Take a Breath
by Bethofbells
Summary: Mindy doesn't know what she's getting into when she baits Danny ino showing her what a "real man" is.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is the first piece of fanfiction I've ever written, and I'm not entirely sure if I'm using this site correctly. Oh well, I suppose I'll find out. Please leave whatever comments and criticisms you want, it's all greatly appreciated.**

This was the way Danny Castellano liked to run. In the cool morning of early fall when the leaves were still on the few trees happened to be lining the street. The light from the rising sun just lightening the deep blue of night into the pale blue of faded denim jeans.

There were always other runners this time of morning. Young hip urbanites running before work in their designer track suits tapping out a rhythm on the pavement to the beat of the hip hop music flowing from their iPods. Danny preferred to go without music. He liked hearing his breath whooshing in and out as his feet pounded the pavement to the tattoo of his own beating heart. He liked to hear the other runners coming up behind him as their sneakers slapped the side walk. That faint sound slowly getting louder and louder as they inevitably outflanked him. His normally competitive nature was dormant on these morning runs. It was the only time when he could drop his Staten Island bravado. No one knew him out here. It was easy. So much easier than the hours and hours he spent with Mindy and Reed at the practice. Which is why he was so irritated right now.

There was Mindy. She was in her bright pink and orange track suit with a matching beanie and her hello kitty ear buds popped in her ears. The volume turned up so loud that he could hear the base line to whatever teen dream song she was listening to. He took a moment to glance back at her and rolled his eyes. She had shut hers and was bobbing her head to the beat doing some Rocky Balboa dance-jog. "Hey! You're going to run into something if you don't open your eyes!" No response. "Mindy!"

Her eyes popped open. "WHAT?!" She pulled the buds out her ears and opened her eyes wide in inquiry. "You say something, Danny?"

He slowed his pace a bit so she could catch up. "I said you're going to run into something if you don't start watching where you're going. You've already disabled one of your senses with those things. I don't think you have a fair shot at surviving our run with two down."

"For your information, Dr. Castellano, when I deprive myself of one sense it only heightens the others. So you can just apply that logic doubly and I'll be fine." She smirked at him.

"Mindy, that doesn't…" He saw her smirk widen into a smile and he realized he was hooked.

She always did this. She would apply her backwards Mindy-logic to something just so he would try to argue with it. She loved arguing with him and she usually won, even when she was totally wrong. He decided to take a different tack.

"Well I suppose that could be the case. Mindy, why don't you just put those teddy bear things back in your ears and shut your eyes and let your nose lead us to our destination?" He felt the corners of his eyes crinkle a bit and knew he was smiling. It was so much easier not to argue with her sometimes. He even felt he had the upper hand.

"Of course, Danny!" She popped her ear buds back in, closed her eyes and shot ahead of him yelling behind her. "And I know you know what Hello Kitty is." She veered around the corner.

He felt a little bit alarmed when she disappeared from sight. It was just like her to run full tilt somewhere deaf and blind. He picked up the pace and rounded the corner and saw her standing at a pretzel cart with a big soft cinnamon pretzel in one hand and a coffee in the other. "See Danny, my heightened sense of smell led me straight to this wonderful pretzel cart." She walked up to him and stopped directly in front of him to take a very large bite and said with her mouth full, "You should get one too, Dr. Castellano, to reward yourself for a brisk morning run."

He looked down at her and watched as she captured sugar crystals perched on her upper lip with her tongue. He should never had agreed to let her come jogging with him in the mornings before work. This was the third time this week, and they hadn't even completed the circuit once. "Mindy, it completely defeats the purpose of a morning jog if you stop for pastries, and I don't think your discovery of this pretzel cart speaks to your heightened senses since you've stopped here the past three mornings."

"Agree to disagree?" She sipped her coffee and held out the uneaten half of her pretzel to him as a peace offering. He looked down at it with annoyance. He liked soft pretzels. He really liked cinnamon soft pretzels. It wasn't exactly genetics that created the tubby kid that was once Danny Castellano.

He took a deep breath before giving in to the temptation in front of him. He snatched the pretzel from her hands and took a large bite of it. "Does this mean I get some of that coffee too?" The words muffled from the food rolling around in his mouth. "Come on Min, I'm dying here." He cringed inwardly at his use of the diminutive. He hated how easy it was so slip into this easy camaraderie with her, it brought on an uneasiness he wasn't prepared to analyze.

She smiled him. "Sure Dan, have at it. I've gotten my caffeine intake for the morning." She handed him the coffee, her hand brushing up against his fingers. Suddenly he was grateful it was such a cold morning and they were both wearing gloves. "Besides, I'm ready to finish our run now." She hopped up and down started jogging in place. "Last one to arrive at the office buys lunch." And she took off.

Danny stood there for a full minute before he kicked into gear and tossed the pretzel and coffee in the trash and tore after Mindy. "You totally cheated, Lahiri! Even if you get to your apartment before I get home, I'll still beat you because you take hours to get ready!" She had put those hello kitty things back in her ears and didn't hear a word he said. Danny decided for once to just relax. There was quite a nice view from here.


	2. Chapter 2

CH 2.

Mindy, much to his surprise, was sitting in her office when Danny casually strolled in at 8:50. Sitting there with her head bent over a file and her glasses perched just on the tip of her nose where they rested when she was so engrossed in something she didn't think to push them back up. It looked as though she'd been there for a good while.

He went over to her door way and peeked in. "Are you kidding me? How did this happen?"

When she'd looked up from her file there was a brief moment when annoyance had her eyebrows furrowed, but her face was quickly transformed by a bright smile. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "I have my secrets, and you'll never get them out of me." She looked back down at her file and started making notations so Danny backed out of her office. He was headed over to his door when he heard a muffled shout, "No pizza, Danny!"

He sighed. The stupid bet. He honestly thought she'd been kidding. He kept walking as though he hadn't heard. He sat down at his computer and checked his appointments for the day. Maybe he could work though lunch and avoid Mindy for the rest of the day. They had been spending an inordinate amount of time together outside of the practice and lately it was really throwing him off balance. He'd given up on actively trying to dislike Mindy ages ago. She just didn't let that happen. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she irked him more than any living person he'd ever known, but most of the things that bothered him about Mindy were things that he could easily find endearing if he let himself. That's what made him feel strange.

They argued constantly about everything, but he enjoyed it. Too much. Ruffling her feathers was so easy to do. Pretending he didn't understand some pop culture reference or being obtuse about new technology was enough to set her off on those short-lived crusades to educate him, the old man, on the nuances of modern tech and celebrities. He'd never known anyone to argue so passionately about such things. The more vociferous she became, the more entrenched in his viewpoint he became, until they inevitably stomped away from each other in a huff only to start up again later. He loved it, and it was starting to scare him.

Last week she had taken two days off to go on a trip with Gwen. It was her "Four Day Weekend in the Hamptons." That was the heading on the itinerary she gave to everyone in the office so they could contact her while she was away. He'd rolled his eyes when she'd given it to him. That earned him a ten minute lecture on professionalism from the woman wearing Jacki-O sunglasses and a sunhat with a foot wide brim in an office on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.

He had looked forward to Thursday and Friday without Mindy's high pitched cheer around the office intruding on his work, but it hadn't been like he thought it would. He'd been so bored. He'd missed her. And that scared him too. He didn't like becoming attached to her.


	3. Chapter 3

The midday sun was filtering through the blinds in Mindy's office. It was a bit warm for Mindy's taste, and she had taken off her blue cardigan and draped it over the back of her chair. It totally undid her look, but whatever. She didn't enjoy being sweaty.

She was looking at Gwen sitting in the chair in front of her. She was completely put together. Not a single shining blonde hair out of place, and she didn't look the least bit over heated. Mindy was still processing the last thing Gwen had said to her.

"Gwen! That is so unfair. I'm not like that anymore. That was ages ago!" She looked at her friend over the tops of her frames. "You really need to have more faith in me. The next guy you set me up with could be love at first sight. How can you deny me possible love at first sight?"

"Love at first sight isn't real, Mindy. You really need to lay off the romantic comedies. When I first met Carl I thought he was a bit weird, but then I got to know him and realized he was just nervous. Plus, you tend to lay it on really thick when you first meet people and it's usually only after they get to talking to you that they realize how awesome you are." Gwen smiled at her best friend. "Plus, the last set up I did for you was a disaster so that's not an avenue we're going down again for a while, ok?"

Mindy took her glasses of and set them on the blotter in front of her. "First of all: Carl is weird, that's never changed. Second of all: I'm trying to tell you I'm no longer a hot mess. Third of all: How am I supposed to meet people outside of work if not through you?" She had ticked off each point on one finger like a teacher giving a lecture. When she was done she straightened the pens in front of her into a neat row. "Seriously, Gwen, everyone at those medical conventions is either ancient or married or addicted to prescription meds. I need you."

"Mindy, give it some time. Maybe we'll do it again. I just need to recover from this last one. We have got to space out our blowouts some. You totally scuffed my Jimmy Chu's this last time, and I don't know if I'm ready to look past that yet." Gwen saw Mindy's shoulders fall and felt a bit guilty, but her resolve could not waver. "I think you need some time to yourself."

"I'm tired of talking about this." Mindy blew a wisp of hair out of her face. This humidity was making it lanky. "What's in that bag you brought? I'm starving."

Gwen's face brightened. "Lunch. A peace offering. I got you a fresh greens salad with grilled chicken and almonds, and I brought myself a delicious sandwich. It's Havarti and ham on a dark rye. So good." She set the salad bowl and the wrapped sandwich on Mindy's desk. "And I got us some of that fancy water you were talking about. Tasmanian Rainwater. Supposedly straight from sky to bottle. However that works." She set them on the desk as well. "Peace offering accepted?"

"Gwen, you know how much I've wanted to try that water. So yes, your dirty trick worked. I will wait a whole week before asking you again." She smiled and grabbed one of the bottles. After taking a big swig she looked at Gwen. "This tastes like water, Gwen."

Someone clearing a throat in the doorway caught their attention. Danny was standing in there looking unsure of himself. He looked from Mindy to Gwen and took in the array of food on the desk. "I, uh, take it we're not doing lunch then?"

"Oh, Danny, I totally forgot about that, I guess you'll just have to owe me another day." Mindy took another drink of the water in her hand and picked up her salad to open it.

Gwen glanced up at Danny. His shoulders had drooped a bit and he had an expression on his face that almost looked lost. It was only there for the briefest of moments. It was quickly replaced with the normal half scowl he always wore. Interesting. He was turning to leave. She leaned forward and dug her phone out of her purse. "Oh, Mindy, it looks like I missed a call from Carl, and he left several text messages. Riley is sick at school and I need to go pick her up and take her home. Immediately." Gwen stood up and grabbed her bag, and shuffled closer to the door. She placed her hand on Danny's arm. "Danny, you should eat my food, we hadn't even opened it yet. I'd hate to see it go to waste."

Mindy narrowed her eyes at Gwen. "What exactly is wrong with Riley, Gwen?"

"Oh, you know, some kid thing. They're always getting bugs and puking everywhere. I'll see you tomorrow, hon." She slipped out the door, and called after her. "Nice seeing you, Danny. Don't let that food go to waste."

Danny was still on the threshold. He, "Well, actually, um, I have a thing…" He trailed off, but continued to just stand there awkwardly. Mindy hadn't notice though, she was intently texting someone on her phone. "So yeah, I'm just gonna go and –"

"Danny just sit down and eat Gwen's sandwich. I know you're some sort of sandwich connoisseur or something." She was still looking down at her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. She tapped send and set the phone on the desk and looked back up. "Well?"

He took the chair Gwen had been in and picked up the sandwich off the desk. "A connoisseur? Come on Mindy. I like sandwiches. Who doesn't like sandwiches?" He unfolded the ends of the wax paper and eyed the rye bread. "What kind of sandwich is this?"

"Something Gwen likes, does it matter? It's just a sandwich." She picked up her fork and dug into her salad. "Just eat it Danny." Mindy frowned down at her food. "What do you think that was about?"

Danny was in the process of situating himself. He set the sandwich on the arm of the chair and reached for the water on Mindy's desk. "What what was about?" He was frowning at the label of the water.

"Gwen. She did not have to go get Riley. That was totally a fake out, but I can't figure out why."

Danny continued to look at the water bottle. "What is this? Rainwater? How much does this stuff cost?" He opened it and took a drink and frowned.

"I don't know, like 11 or 12 dollars a bottle." She speared some lettuce and chicken on her fork and popped it in her mouth. "It's a luxury item, Danny. You should treat yourself more often instead of guzzling that tap water like you do." She was talking with her mouth full a little bit. "There are so many particulate contaminants in tap water, it's truly terrifying."

"No thanks. Real men drink tap water." He took a bite of the sandwich. Good job Gwen.

"Oh, Danny. Let me get out my diary. I need to add that to the _Real Men According to Danny Castellano_ thesis you're working on." She took another swig of the water and rolled her eyes. She picked up a file from her desk and started fanning herself. "Is there something wrong with the air-conditioning today? It's so stuffy in here."

Danny looked up at her. There was a slight sheen of perspiration on her forehead and he skin was a little flushed. Danny suddenly felt warm himself. "Reed probably messed with the thermostat again." He looked down at the bottle in his hands again. "Bottled water is so bad for the environment. I thought you'd be on the ban-bottled-water-bandwagon by now." He looked up at her. "Deslaurier would be so disappointed in you." He smirked.

"Shut it." She set the file back down and poked at her salad with her fork. "I think I'm gonna cash in on that bet. Give me half of that sandwich." She gave him a pointed look.

Danny looked down at the sandwich. It was a very good sandwich. "You're just being vindictive because I brought up Deslaurier. You know you don't want this sandwich, you just want to hurt me. And yes, taking this sandwich from me would hurt." He took another large bite and stared her down.

As if on cue muffled strains of sitar music began filtering down from the ceiling. Danny looked up. Deslaurier. What a douche. "You've got to be kidding me. I've told him a dozen times to turn that stuff down. It's not professional for our patients to be hearing that while we're trying to talk to them about ultrasounds and dilation measurements."

"I don't know. I kind of like it. It gives the place a kind of ambience. Like we're some place nice." She smiled a sweet smile and looked up for a second. Danny clenched his jaw a little bit and stared down at the sandwich. Suddenly he had no appetite.

"You would like it, wouldn't you?" He muttered sitting back in the chair a bit. "We're eating a sandwich and a salad. What kind of sandwich shop have you ever been to that plays sitars and harps?" The scoffing tone in his voice was harsher that the situation called for, but Danny couldn't stop himself.

"It's like a fancy restaurant. The kind of place I would want to go." She was eyeing Danny suspiciously. She had set aside her salad and was tracing patterns in the condensation droplets on the outside of her water bottle.

Danny raised an eyebrow and an incredulous half smile appeared. "Sounds like up there's a place you want to go, Min." There was that damn nickname again. Danny cringed inwardly.

"Don't be ridiculous, _Dan_. That's absurd." This conversation was making her extremely uncomfortable, so she decided to be intentionally obtuse. "Why on earth would I, a medically licensed OBGYN, want to work in a Holistic Birthing Center with a bunch of quacks?" She widened her eyes with feigned curiosity.

"Maybe you like one of the quacks." Danny had leaned forward in his chair and set his sandwich on the front of Mindy's desk. He suddenly became aware of his aggressive posture and the intensity with which he made the assertion. He cleared his throat and set back in his chair a little, trying to appear more nonchalant. "What is it with Deslaurier anyway, Mindy?"

"What are you talking about?" This line of conversation was worse.

"Why are you making nice with him?" Stop talking about this. You don't need to know what the deal with Deslaurier is. Danny's mouth was outrunning his judgment. "I saw you with him at the hospital, you know that. But that was after he treated you badly. You said so yourself. So why the starry eyes and cheek kissing?"

Mindy is totally taken unaware by the soft tone in which the question was asked. Danny had dropped his gaze. He was fidgeting with his watch, unbuckling and buckling it again. He looked vulnerable. She'd never seen him like this. It made her feel odd. She let out a deep breath. "He apologized."

"That's why I didn't invite you Alex's party. I thought you'd bring him, and I can't stand that jerk." He looked back up at Mindy. She laughed halfheartedly and leaned back in her office chair.

"You know Danny, he might have been better than my actual date." This was quite possibly the oddest interaction she'd ever had with Danny Castellano, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"Don't bring that up." He laughed. "I've been trying to forget about that from the moment it happened. You have the worst judgment when it comes to guys."

"Well, Danny, maybe you should just be my wingman and tell me if the men I'm interested are _real men_. You seem to have an infinite supply of criteria." She was frowning.

"Well, maybe I should. You seem to have no clue when it comes to picking out the right guy." Danny was frowning too. He had leaned forward in his chair again and this time both of his hands were on the front of her desk. "Although, I think that just telling you what a real man is would have very little effect, because you never listen to a damn thing anyone says. You'd have to be shown what a real man is."

Danny stood up from his chair. Looking down on Mindy he could see the fire in his eyes. "Oh, really. You think you can show me what a real man is?" She wasn't yelling, but the intensity of the question had the same affect. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Why don't you then, Danny? We both get out of here at the same time. Just in time for dinner. Maybe you should just quit running your mouth and prove it."

"Oh, I can prove it. It's not all talk. It's about time you learned what a real man is!" Danny heard his voice raised, and it was like he was having an out of body experience. He was sweating here. This room was suddenly more than just a bit too warm He was watching himself from afar. No no no. This is not a good idea. "Meet me at the elevator at five."

"It's a date then." Mindy's eyes were flashing and even though there was still anger in her voice she also sounded a bit smug.

"Oh, you bet it's a date!" Danny abruptly turned and stalked out of her office. What the hell just happened?

Mindy was standing alone in her office fanning herself with the file again and wondering the same thing herself when her phone started buzzing. It was a text from message from Gwen. _Maybe I won't have to set you up with anyone after all._

"What the hell, Gwen?


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Mindy let the hair bunched up in her hand fall against her shoulders for what felt like the tenth time. She couldn't decide. Up or down. She swung the waves around her shoulders and twisted to look at herself from another angle. The mirror in the corner of her office threw back a reflection that pleased Mindy.

The little black dress she was wearing had a tasteful scoop neck and a little more risqué cut in the back. She liked the way the curls bounced against the exposed skin at her back. The skirt fell just to her knees and made little swishing motions that echoed the movement of her hair. She smiled a little smugly. There were advantages to having a large portion of your wardrobe at work. She was certain Danny would just be wearing the same boring suit he'd had on earlier. This was quickly becoming competitive to Mindy.

Sure, she had challenged Danny. She had baited him into showing her what a "real man" was, but now she felt like she needed to show him was a "real woman" was. The image of Danny's waiflike ex-wife flashed before Mindy. Sure, she was a beautiful woman. Mindy would be lying if she said otherwise. In fact, when she'd first seen Christina a little wave of surprise had crashed into Mindy. The woman hardly seemed Danny's type.

Mindy whirled away from the mirror and picked up her compact and lip gloss. Oh yes, Danny was certainly in for it tonight. She wouldn't stop until he admitted she was perfectly capable of finding a "real man" on her own. After applying the final touch to her makeup, she snapped the compact shut and tossed it into her clutch.

One final glance in the mirror and Mindy strode confidently into the office. It was fifteen after. No rush, Danny needed to know what it was like to wait for something worthwhile. She'd expected him to be standing at the elevator waiting for her like they'd agreed, but no one was there. The office was eerily silent, not even the shuffling of papers to indicate anyone was here.

Suddenly, Mindy was pissed. He backed out. That little weasel! She opened her clutch and dug out her cell phone. If he thought it would be this easy, he was sorely mistaken. She unlocked the screen and started composing a strongly worded text. She wouldn't deign to call him, since she knew he preferred that method of communication anyway.

Just as she was about to hit send her phone started ringing. The vibration tingling at her fingertips caused her to almost drop it. It was Danny. Probably calling with some lame excuse. Well, she'd hardly let him wriggle his way out.

"Hello." Her tone was a bit icy and she stopped at the clipped greeting. She could hear him breathing on the other end. She wasn't going to make it easy.

After a few seconds he took a deep breath and asked, "Where are you?"

The righteous indignation that had been fueling Mindy's pre-rant psych up dissipated. "What? I'm at the elevator like we agreed." She grinned to herself. "Oh, I get it. Real men are perpetually late. Good one, Danny, I'll add that to the list."

Surprisingly, he laughed. "Ah, I don't think so, Lahiri. I was at the elevator on time. You, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. Now, I'm just standing here in the lobby waiting. Not getting cold feet are you?"

She scoffed. "I don't think so. I'll be down in a minute. Prepare yourself. You have no idea what you're in for tonight." She ended the call and got into the elevator.

Danny looked down at the phone in his hand. A reluctant half smile creeping up on his face. There had been a great deal of dread following Danny around the last couple hours after lunch. Just this morning he'd been looking for ways to decrease the time they spent together outside of work, and now he was going on what was effectively a date.

Mindy was like this force of nature. Sometimes it was just better to roll with whatever crazy schemes she concocted. He'd been doing it a lot more lately, and nothing awful had happened. Nothing awful, unless he counted that unexpected breathlessness he suffered sometimes when he found himself near her.

The more often it happened, the less he thought of it as an affliction. He'd begun to wonder if he could elicit the same physical response from her. He'd love to hear the breath catch in her throat while she looked at him.

She thought he was the one in for a surprise. Well, that could go both ways.

The elevator ride down to the lobby was excruciatingly slow. Mindy watched each number at the top of the doors light up. Each time there was a brief moment when she suspected the elevator was broken and the next number would never illuminate. She was tapping her foot and having a heated inner dialogue with an imaginary Danny.

She knew exactly how she was going to get at him. He really didn't need to convince her that most men were jerks. She'd dated enough, and had collected plenty of evidence.

Just when Mindy began to believe she was trapped in some terrible episode of The Twilight Zone where she would be forced to ride an elevator for eternity, the lobby light lit up and the blessed ding sounded. When the doors slid open, she strode forward into the lobby, ready to lay it on him.

She stopped dead in her tracks. She'd expected to see Danny in the somewhat rumpled suit he'd worn all day at work. She'd certainly though he'd have his well-worn jacket and dingy messenger bag draped over his shoulder, a beleaguered look on his face, ready to take her to some dive bar.

Instead he stood there confidently giving her a satisfied cockeyed grin. He wasn't wearing the outfit from earlier. Now he had on a charcoal gray two piece suit with a dark oxford underneath, the top two buttons undone. He'd showered and shaved. She stepped closer. The scent of a musky cologne with fresh top notes invaded her nose. "I don't understand."

He closed the last of the gap between them. "Well, I knew you would not be ready at five. You're predictable that way. So, I went home a little bit early and here I am." He gestured to himself with his left hand. His right hand, still at his side, was clutching a small tiger lily bloom. "Real mean know their women." He reached up and tucked the flower behind her ear, brushing the hair out of the way. "I knew you'd have it down."

He turned away from her and headed to the glass doors facing the street. He held it open and looked back at her. For a moment she was too stunned to move. She'd never seen him like this before. It was like invasion of the body snatchers. Who was this? She snapped out of it, tossed her hair back over her shoulder, and strode confidently past him. Looking back over her shoulder she asked, "Oh please. I didn't even know if it would be up or down until fifteen minutes ago. How could you have possibly known?"

He stepped out onto the sidewalk still slightly behind her and placed his hand lightly on the small of her back. The warmth of it rested just below the edge of the material. The tip of one finger brushed the exposed skin on her back. He leaned close to her ear. "Vanity. You love the attention people give you when you walk into a room tossing those locks that people pay to have."

A shiver ran up her spine when the softly spoken words caused the lily at her ear to tremble against her skin. As quickly as his light touch ascended, it withdrew and he pulled away from her. She swallowed and broke the trance she was falling into.

It was then she noticed the cab idling in front of the building. She smiled. "Good. You hailed a cab. I was not looking forward to going on the subway like this. I'm far too hot. I would totally be accosted." She started to charge ahead of him and get into the car.

He stilled her with a hand on her forearm. "Allow me." He reached forward and opened the door. "I know you just eat this kind of thing up."

She glared at him as she slid into the cab. He followed close behind and before she knew it they were sitting hip to hip in the cab and Danny was giving the driver directions. The confidence that was radiating from him was unexpected, and Mindy suddenly felt warm. She fanned herself when she thought he wasn't looking.

When he turned back to her, she looked up at him with a frown. "You're not exactly being charming right now. As a matter of fact, you're behaving a bit like a jerk. Is this how 'real men' get the ladies?"

He leaned back against the vinyl of the back seat and gave her a smoldering look coupled with that damn smile. "Don't pretend you want me to be charming. You've dated enough assholes to know there's a difference between displaying a little masculine charisma and being a jerk. Most of the guys you date fall into the latter category. Isn't that why we're here?"

She peered up at him, a look of confusion marring her features. The confusion quickly turned into a inquisitiveness. She leaned closer to him and took his face in her hands and pulled him down so she could look into his eyes. The curiosity didn't transform into desire, instead she squinted. "Danny, are you high right now?"

He released himself from her grasp and sighed. "What? You're not gonna play along now? I'm trying to show you something Min." His shoulders dropped, his hands folded in his lap. He stared out the window at the passing streetlamps. "I'm a doctor, I don't get high. I'm not some college frat boy, or some new age hippie."

Mindy sat back against the seat next to him. There had been a slight edge to his voice on the last words. Hmmm. Jealousy. Was there some chance that Mr. Staten Island wasn't completely faking it? The beginning of an idea began to percolate. She scooted closer to him and threaded her arm through his. "Well, _honey_, where are we going on this date of ours?" She overemphasized the endearment to make a point. She was playing along.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm having fun with this fic. (weird direction? idk) Please comment if you want to leave suggestions or criticisms. I love it when I get feedback.**

Ch 5

Danny glanced down at the delicate fingers curled around his bicep. It took a moment for his brain to register Mindy's question. He angled himself toward her, his gaze traveling from her hand up to her face. "Don't worry, Min. It's not some kitschy sports bar, although I was tempted, just to see the expression on your face, but it's definitely not some swanky restaurant with harps and what have you."

She raised one eyebrow and squeezed his arm a bit. "You say swanky like it's a four letter word. Sometimes swanky is what a girl wants. A little fine dining experience could be just the thing to set the tone."

Danny suppressed a shiver as the cab slowed to a stop. Mindy looked out the window at a nondescript brick edifice home to various businesses, the windows all dark at this time of night. She leaned across Danny's lap to get a better view. "Is this how you're going to break it to me?"

She had dropped her hand down on his knee for support. The scent of her perfume wafted up to his nose. An earthy sweet smell. The meaning of her words slowly infiltrated the fog in his brain. "Break what to you?"

She sat back, still turned toward him. "The fact that you're a serial killer, and I'm probably going to be your next victim." She gestured to the building. "Seriously Danny, what is this place? There's no one here."

He leaned forward, pulling his wallet from his jacket. After he paid the cabbie he looked back to Mindy. "Relax, Lahiri." He reached up and brushed her cheek with his palm, lightly sweeping the skin under her eye with his thumb. "I already have lampshades in this particular skin tone." He grinned and reached for the door handle. He adroitly slipped from the cab, gracefully turning back and extending his hand for her to take.

The contact on her face was brief, but Mindy found herself touching the spot where his fingers had grazed. Danny was being so playful with her, she wanted to pinch herself. For a minute she'd had that feeling in the pit of her stomach. The one you got as a kid when you went really high on the swings and there was a moment, at the apex just before the decent, when you were weightless.

She gathered her scattered thoughts back together and plastered on her flirtatious confidence again. She scooted forward and reached out for his hand, grasping it firmly without hesitation. She felt the slight sheen of perspiration against his palm. So he wasn't as cool as he seemed. Good to know.

He reached behind her and shut the cab door. The cab receded into the evening and Mindy and Danny were left to themselves standing under the yellow light of the streetlamp. It cast one half of Danny's face in shadow. Mindy suddenly felt like the femme fatale in a noir film, but Danny was menacing in an altogether different way right now.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and slipped her arm t cast Danny a sidelong glance. "Are you going to even give me a hint?" His merely smiled in response, giving her a look Mindy would have classified as smoldering. She was grateful for the cool night air.

Still silent, he began to lead her down the sidewalk in front of the building she'd seen through the window. Once they reached the end of it, Danny turned into what looked like an alley. They were heading toward a set of stairs that plunged downward into what had to have been a basement area.

A smug smile settled on her face. "I knew you would take me to a dive bar. Real men must have such a hard time impressing women."

He paused, pulling Mindy closer to him than necessary. He leaned closer to her face. "Oh, I don't know, I never seem to have much trouble. This place we're going to has something that those generic restaurants and flavor of the month clubs don't."

He was a hair's breadth away from her lips. She started to say something, but an uncharacteristic shortness of breath caught the words in her mouth. An embarrassing squeak issued from her mouth, and she quickly cleared her throat to cover it. "Ahem, and uh, what exactly is that? Chalk outlines?"

He smiled for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight and leaned back on his heels, looking at her with a self-assured expression. "Character."

Her arm still locked in his, he continued down the alley toward the steps. There was a group of three men standing at the head of the stairs chatting amiably and smoking cigars. The oldest of the trio, a man looking to be in his late sixties, squinted questioningly at them for a moment, then suddenly a wave of recognition filled his features and he beamed at them. "Danny! I haven't seen you in ages."

The man reached forward and clapped Danny on the shoulder, turning his scrutiny on Mindy. His pearly grin widened further. "And who is this? Some poor girl you've tricked into accompanying you here?" He turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Danny and feigned a whisper. "Quite a looker too, she got a sister?"

Mindy found herself once again gaping at the picture in front of her. Who was this man? Who was Danny even? She was looking at him like he'd just stepped out of a spaceship. "You going to introduce me?" She piped up with more confidence than she felt.

Danny withdrew his arm from hers, placing his hand at the small of her back. "Mindy, this is Ed Calloway, jazz pianist extraordinaire." He turned back to Mindy. "Ed, this is my colleague, Dr. Mindy Lahiri. She doesn't think I know how to show a lady a good time, so I'm out to prove her wrong."

Mindy had trouble paying attention to the words being spoken in front of her. Danny's hand was meandering up her back, twisting the dangling locks of hair brushing against her skin. The manners ingrained by her parents saved her from embarrassment. She reflexively offered her hand in greeting.

Ed grasped it warmly. "Be sure to look me up if he doesn't prove you wrong." Ed returned the cigar to his mouth taking a short pull on it. He gestured to the stairway with his free hand. "Well, go on down, I'll be starting my set shortly."

* * *

Danny pulled Mindy down the stairs behind him. There were gleaming neon lights attached to the reddish brown bricks in the stairwell. Floating little blue musical notes cast a blue glow to light their path. When they reached the bottom, Mindy began to hear the muffled strains of soft music tinkling out into the night.

Danny pushed the door at the bottom of the stairs open and motioned for Mindy to enter. She stepped through it into a dimly lit entryway. She could hear the music more clearly now. It was some sort of jazz. A bit formless and meandering, but nice nonetheless. She could make out the tat-a-tat of the high hat and the dexterous plucking of the bass. She would never have pictured Danny here.

She turned to him as he followed behind her. "You've never mentioned any of this to anyone at the office." She waved her hand around, a gesture that encompassed her surroundings. "Since when are you into Jazz? Who is that man? What exactly are we going to do here?" In spite of the genuine confusion she was feeling, Mindy began to feel a smile form. "Who are you, and what have you done with Daniel Castellano?"

Danny came up to her and captured his hand in his, barely pausing in his forward movement, he pulled her along behind him toward an area where tables were clustered together. She sat down wordlessly at the little table. There was a candle flickering gently in the center of it, casting strange shadows in front of her. Danny didn't sit down. "I'll be right back, I'll get us something to drink, and then I can play twenty questions with you."

Left alone for a minute, Mindy was able to stop and asses what she'd just learned. She'd been speechless, probably for the longest period of time in her entire life, and she didn't like it. If this were a competition, Danny would be winning at the moment. Unacceptable.

She sat her clutch on the table in front of her. Pulling the compact out she quickly touched up her makeup, making sure she didn't look as confused as she felt. Done with it, she flung it back in the clutch and sat up straight, smoothing down the front of her dress. She smiled to herself, it was early yet. It's time to get your head in the game, Mindy.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I like the tone of this chapter. Please comment with feedback. It really makes my day, and I would absolutely love suggestions.**

Danny moved to wipe his palms against his side as he approached the bar. The nervous anxiety he felt had certainly diminished while he'd been talking, but it was still there under the surface waiting. It was early yet, only 6:30 by Danny's watch. There weren't all that many people around.

An older woman stood behind the bar, using the lull before it got busy to catch up on little things. Her age was only evident to Danny because he knew her. She still had long dark hair that fell in waves around her shoulders, and there were only a few little wrinkles around her eyes to tell tales. She had an array of silverware in front of her and she was carefully wrapping it with cloth napkins, expertly tucking the folds into themselves. She looked up as he approached.

The silent look of inquiry instantly morphed into a beaming smile when she saw him. "Danny, my dear, so good to see you. It's been far too long." She set aside what she was working on and moved to stand in front of him.

Danny leaned forward against the bar. "Mrs. Calloway, always good to see you. I know it's been a long time." He felt a little guilty. There was a time in the past when Elena and Ed Calloway were like family to him. He looked down at his hands resting on the bar. He didn't really know what to say. He sighed. "I never liked coming here alone."

She reached across the bar and placed her hand on top of his. There was a sad look in her eyes. "Some places are like that, you know, made for couples." The knowing look on her face allayed some of the guilt he was feeling. "What can I get you then?"

"Two fingers of scotch and a white wine." He took his wallet out and laid a few bills on the countertop. "Are you serving any food yet? I may not have thought this through. I came here straight after work with the promise of dinner."

Elena's brows raised a bit as she reached under the counter to retrieve the tumbler for Danny's scotch. She set it down in front of him and smiled. "I can get something together. You here with someone special Danny?" She cast her gaze out across the bar, singling out Mindy. "The pretty girl at the table alone over there?"

Danny turned slightly and followed her look. Mindy was sitting where he'd left her, eyes closed, head moving ever so slightly to the slow melody currently filling the air. He smiled. He knew this wasn't her typical scene, but she was open to it.

For some reason, he'd been certain she would scoff at this place, and immediately begin harassing him about his taste in music and places. As often had been the case with Mindy, she'd surprised him. Openness was the mantra by which she lived her life. The thought warmed him.

He turned back to Elena. She had poured his scotch and was in the process of filling a glass with white wine. "Yeah, she's a …. colleague of mine." He had paused slightly in describing Mindy. They'd gotten into arguments about this in the past. He'd held her at arm's length for so long, and lately she'd been trying to work her way into every aspect of his life.

Elena looked at him shrewdly. "A colleague? Is that all?" She turned her back to Danny and returned the bottle to its place.

Was she more than a colleague? Of course. She insisted they were friends. She'd latched onto his life unexpectedly, inviting him to random things, calling him for assistance, giving him totally unsolicited advice. In the past two weeks he'd been experiencing the inexorable pull of her personality more than usual. "I mean, a friend as well, I suppose."

Elena pushed the two glasses across the bar in front of Danny and slid his money back toward him. "No charge, hon. I'll have something out for you two in a little bit. Is she vegetarian or anything?" Danny was still in his own thoughts a bit, contemplating what had really changed in his relationship with Mindy. He just shook his head. "Well, that's good then. Go have a seat with your friend." She may or may not have added a little emphasis to the last word.

Danny smiled and took the drinks. As he was walking back to the tables, Elena called out to him. "Danny, try and have a good time tonight, and don't be a stranger."

* * *

When he got to the table, Mindy still had her eyes closed, head bobbing a bit. He took the opportunity to look at her unabashedly. She looked so at ease. It shouldn't have surprised him. That's how she was. There never seemed to be a situation that she couldn't adapt to in some way. It was a direct contrast to his sometimes rigid personality.

As if she sensed him looking at her, she opened her eyes. "There you are, I thought you were going to run away with the pretty bartender." Her eyes dropped from his face to his hands. "White wine? You do appear to know me."

Danny sat down at the table and positioned the wine glass in front of her. "Ed probably wouldn't be happy if I ran off with his wife." He noticed a barely perceptible shift in her demeanor. Many times tonight she'd been stunned speechless by the things Danny had done or said, but now she had regrouped.

Out in the alley, when he'd pulled her to a stop and gotten unnecessarily close. He'd heard the catch in her breath, the slight squeak when she'd tried to speak. The sound of it had clutched at him, causing his own breath to momentarily pause. She'd cleared it though, and regained her normal composure. That's how it was right now. It was as if she'd decided to stop being surprised by the things he was doing.

She swished around the wine, stuck her nose in the glass and inhaled deeply. "Mmmmm." Seemingly satisfied she tipped it up to her lips and took a sip. "Good stuff, Danny." She sat the glass down on the table. "So, jazz, really? I mean, it's like you're trying to prove me right."

He took a sip of his scotch and leaned back in his chair. "Prove you right about what?"

She leaned forward and placed her arms on the table in front of her. "When I call you an old man. The way you are right now makes me think you've been possessed by the ghost of some charming old guy." She had an expectant look on her face. She wanted him to contradict her. "Seriously, how do you even know about this place? You can't see it from the street. There aren't any signs. If it were the twenties, I'd think you were taking me to a speakeasy or something."

Rather than get huffy, he laughed. "I get it, Min. I really do. If you'd asked my teenage self about jazz I would have told you where you could stuff it." He finished his scotch and sat it down on the table with a little thump. "Ed and Elena are old family friends, or rather Ed was a friend of my father's." The smile slowly faded from his face. He really hadn't meant to get into this. "They had a falling out when I was young, around the time when…." He trailed off. She would know what he was talking about.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Ed would always come around and check up on my mom and us boys, just to make sure we were doing ok. When I moved into the city and started college, he offered me a job here, which I desperately needed." He twisted the empty tumbler around on the table, keeping his eyes on it while he was talking.

"I remember the first night I came here. When Ed had told me I could work at his bar, he hadn't said anything about it being a jazz club. Which, by the way, it isn't really. Most jazz clubs are tiny venues with minimal seating and no dance floor. People go there to sit and take in the music, and chat with friends. Ed's always done his own thing though." He looked up at her. "When he gets down here, you'll see. The stuff they're playing now is pretty mellow, but Ed likes to do a little Latin infusion with his jazz. It's really the kind of thing that makes you want to move."

Mindy leaned even further forward on the table, taking another sip of wine. "So, when you got here that first night, you what?" She couldn't help but be intrigued. It was so hard to picture Danny as a nineteen year old kid who listened to Springsteen and Tom Petty, surrounded by jazz musicians.

He laughed. "At first I was really irritated. That first night, there were a bunch of pretentious douches calling each other 'cat' and women referring to them as 'daddy,' but then Ed took the stage." There was an awe in Danny's voice that Mindy had never heard before. For a minute she found herself wishing she could hear it in reference to herself. He looked across the table at her. Caught. She quickly picked up her wine glass and focused on taking another drink.

For a second his train of thought was lost. The way she'd been hanging on his words, looking at him like she'd never seen him before. It was an expression he wanted to see more often. If it hadn't been so dim, Danny would have sworn she'd flushed nervously when he'd caught her staring. She'd certainly looked briefly embarrassed. The warmth pooled in his stomach wasn't entirely attributable to the scotch he'd just drank.

He snapped back from his musings. "Ed sat down at the piano and it was like he was transformed. His fingers flew across the keys pulling melodies from thin air in tandem with the other musicians on the stage." He smiled at the memory. "He came up to me at the end of my shift that night to see how it had gone, and I just stared at him in awe. It was a side I'd never seen before."

Mindy swallowed the last of her wine. "I know the feeling." She set the glass in front of her. "So, is that why you're obsessed with learning to play the piano?"

Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wiping his palms against his thighs. "Well, I suppose. I mean, I would never attempt jazz, but it's a reminder for me sometimes."

Mindy gave him a perplexed look. "A reminder? Of What?"

"This place." He gestured vaguely around him. "Look at it, Min. You yourself commented on how hard it is to find, and yet people mill in and out of here every night of the week, and it's packed some weekends. Ed couldn't care either way though. As long as it does well enough for him to keep it open, it's alright with him. He just wants a place to come and do what he loves every night." The rush of words that spilled from his lips weren't planned. He sighed and looked across the room toward the musicians at the front. "Everyone needs to find something they're passionate about."

Mindy found herself picturing Danny at home, picking out notes on his piano, determined to learn. The image made her feel a little lightheaded. She was really beginning to think she didn't know him as well as she should have.

Just as she was about to voice that, the woman from the bar approached the table. She had another tumbler of scotch in one hand and the bottle of wine in her hand. She set the tumbler in front of Danny and put her hand on his shoulder. "Danny, your food will be out in a minute." She leaned across the table and refilled Mindy's glass. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" There was that strange emphasis on the last word again.

Danny stared at Mindy for a minute. She didn't wait for him to introduce her, but rather shifted in her seat and offered her hand to Elena. "I'm Mindy. I work with Danny. You must be Mrs. Calloway. Danny's been telling me about his time here in college."

Elena kindly took Mindy's proffered hand and squeezed it. "Yes, I am, but dear you can call me Elena. Danny never does, even though I insist, but I suspect you'll humor me." Her eyes were sparkling. She looked Mindy up and down as if assessing her. After a momentary pause, a satisfied expression settled on her face. "It's been so long since he's been here. You'll have to make sure he comes around more often. We miss our Danny."

The last of Danny's alpha male façade faded away and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Well, Mrs. Calloway, you see, this is just, we're just…" He trailed off and looked across the table at Mindy. "This isn't exactly her kind of thing."

Mindy picked up her wine glass and took another sip, looking at Danny over the lip. She sat it back down and looked up at Elena. "I don't know, Danny. This place is growing on me. It has character. Maybe we should come here more often." The mischievous glint in her eyes sent a surprising zing of pleasure through him.

"Yeah, maybe we should."


	7. Chapter 7

CH 7

**A/N: Sometimes I have a hard time with pacing, I'm trying here. I kind of like the pace of this story so far. If anyone disagrees, please feel free to leave feedback. I love your feedback. It helps. **

True to her word, Elena brought them food in a matter of minutes. She had these little cold cut sandwiches composed of olives, tomatoes, and some aioli spread on the bread.

When she set them on the table, Mindy noticeably perked up in interest. She'd been starving. The salad she'd had for lunch was long gone. They were cute little sandwiches, and Mindy had pulled her phone out of her clutch to snap a picture of them. "What are these called?" She smiled sweetly at Elena. "They're just so cute, I have to tweet about this."

Elena smiled. "Bocadillos, they're just little sandwiches. You're sweet though."

Danny stared at Mindy with an exasperated expression. He rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath. She turned her attention to him. "What?"

Elena patted him on the shoulder laughing and excused herself. Mindy continued to stare at Danny in askance. "You have something to say?"

He grinned. "I said that's rude. You do that on all your dates? Pull your phone out willy-nilly to snap pictures of sandwiches? I swear, it's a wonder you get any second dates at all. They probably think you just escaped a psych ward." He relaxed back in his chair and picked up the beer Elena had brought with dinner.

Mindy wanted to be irritated with him, but the slight buzz she was experiencing made her feeling utterly magnanimous. She just smiled widely. "Oh, you really are an old man. You don't even realize that this is a perfectly acceptable, in fact culturally normal, thing to do." She glanced back at her phone and posted the photo.

"Culturally normal, maybe for teenagers, but you're an adult. Maybe you could find a guy who wasn't a prick, if you didn't date ones that think stuff like that is ok. You should find someone who wants your full attention." He set his beer back on the table and picked up one of his bocadillos and began eating it.

The statement surprised her. It was surprisingly insightful and, in a backhanded kind of way, flattering. Mindy took another sip, ok a gulp, of wine and then did the same. The intermingling of simple flavors on her palate combined with her state of incredible hunger resulted in a nirvana-like experience. She forgot the weird conversation they'd been having and closed her eyes. She must have made a weird noise or something because she heard Danny clear his throat and shift in his seat.

When she opened then and looked at Danny she could see a little sheen of sweat across his brow. He took his napkin and swiped it across his head distractedly. "Would you two like a room?" She smiled. So, she was breaking through his cocky act a little bit. It wasn't exactly how she planned it, but better than nothing.

She stared at him innocently. "What are you talking about? I'm just enjoying my food. You really had me worried for a minute when we walked into a bar. I thought you were going to leave me to starve after that less than filling lunch earlier." She felt a little aioli on the edge of her bottom lip and flicked her tongue out to capture it, lingering just a second longer than necessary. She saw his nostrils flare somewhat on a short exhale. Oh, this was going to be easier than she thought.

Danny reluctantly pulled his attention back to the food in front of him and quickly polished off his sandwich, grabbing his beer to wash it down. When he glanced back up, she was finished as well, sitting there patting the corners of her mouth with the napkin.

Before Danny could think of anything to say, he was saved by a small commotion by the stage. Ed had come in and taken his place at the piano. A tall saxophonist in a worn, slightly mashed looking fedora sidled up beside him. A third man wearing all black was standing alongside, seemingly aimless. Ed started to pick out an upbeat melody, running up and down the length of the piano.

Mindy's attention was diverted. She had a surprised look on her face. Up until that moment, the music in the room had been with one long and a winding continuance of improvisation. The sudden shift in energy had her curiosity piqued. She turned to Danny. "Is this what you were talking about? Really makes you wanna move?" The saxophonist started in with a slow building sound and Mindy rose from the table, moving over to Danny's side.

She picked up her glass of wine and drained the last of it, placing it back on the table carefully. She grabbed Danny's arm and hauled him from his seat. "Real men back their words up with actions, right?" She still had her hand wrapped around his upper arm and could feel a pleasant warmth emanating from him.

She headed toward the empty space in front of the stage. There was a couple of people standing around with drinks in their hands, shuffling and swaying to the cadence of the music. A crowd was beginning to form on the edge of the cleared area. Mindy glanced around. She hadn't noticed the people streaming in. The entire bar was taking on a whole new ambience. Ed had brought an air of excitement to the room.

The man she'd seen before standing beside Ed and the saxophonist was tapping his foot and without preamble he pulled a little trumpet from under his jacket. Mindy had never seen anything like it. She looked at Danny. "What is that?"

When she looked up at him questioningly, the open curiosity on her face caused the warmth in his stomach to spread outward. He swallowed and attempted to recover his composure. "It's a pocket trumpet." Just as the words left his mouth the man in black pressed his lips to the tiny trumpet and it let out a high pitched note quickly receding into a run of quick up and down notes.

Mindy's eyes widened in surprise. "Danny, this sounds like a weird mix of jazz and salsa music, and I can totally salsa my butt off." Head fuzzy with wine, she darted out to the dance floor, dragging him behind her.

* * *

Danny couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm as she pulled him after her. This was the way it always was between them. Whether it was actually physically doing something or not, she was always running headlong into things, while he reluctantly dragged his feet behind her. Not this time. If there was one thing that he could do and do well, it was dancing.

When they reached the middle of the dance floor she released him and closed her eyes. She began the quick two step hip swinging shuffle characteristic of salsa dancing. She spun in a quick circle in front of him. Her hair swished along after her, the tip of if just brushing his face.

He stepped forward and placed his hands on her hips. She opened her eyes in surprise, her mouth making a quick little "o" before it transformed into a sultry half smile. She raised her hands to his shoulders and matched her steps to his.

Danny was glad for the need to concentrate on his steps. It would have been so easy to get caught up in the feel of her underneath his fingertips, the way she responded to his gentle nudges. He reached up and grabbed one of her hands and twirled her out from him.

When she returned to his embrace they were pressed up against each other fully. They continued the little back and forth dance motion, both sets of hands traveling where it felt natural. His own hands at her hip and splayed across the bare skin of her back. Hers clutching at his shoulder and waist.

As if encouraged by the pair dancing so uninhibitedly, several other couples had migrated out onto the floor and were swaying their hips alongside them. Danny felt a surprising exhilaration that had been absent for a long time. There was an inescapable smile plastered on his face.

The quick beat of the salsa-like melodies began to taper off into a slower lilting cadence. Their feet slowed to an unhurried set of steps. They swayed together, panting slightly from the previous commotion.

Danny could feel his heart drumming in his chest from the exertion. Mostly from the exertion, he told himself. The flower he'd placed in Mindy's hair had begun to slip out of place. He reached up to it and repositioned it. It was as if he touch broke some spell they'd both been under. She looked down sheepishly and slowly stepped back from him, her hands still on his arms. "Well, that was certainly something." She gave him a quick once over and a wicked smile graced her features. "Is that a trumpet in your pocket or…." She trailed off.

Danny's composure completely slipped. He turned to the side and swiped his sleeve across his forehead. "What… " He looked around, as if expecting someone else to step in and say the right thing. He sighed. "Get a grip, Lahiri, this isn't a real date, remember?"

He took her hand and led her off the dance floor back to the table they'd been at. She pulled her hand from his a little more forcefully than necessary. "Oh really, Sweaty Palms Castellano? It's not a real date? Go on, just pretend you don't think this is hot?" She gestured to herself top to bottom.

He should have been irritated, or even embarrassed, but he couldn't stop thinking about how euphoric dancing with her had been. His brain was still flooded with endorphins. Instead of just shrugging her off, he leaned in close. He face was inches from hers. He gripped her upper arm while leaning in to talk into her ear over the music. He felt her tense a bit. "Not a bit."

He smiled when he felt her tense up for real. She shoved him away with an audible "ugh." She backed away to look at him, when she saw the wide smile across his face, the anger on hers was replaced with puzzlement. Good, she was off balance. He liked that.

Still staring at him she snatched her clutch off the table and slipped her phone out of it. She raised it up and snapped a picture of him. "This is going on instagram. Caption: Danny Castellano has lost his mind, reportedly saying Dr. Mindy Lahiri is 'not a bit' hot."

She was in the process of posting the picture when she saw the time on her phone. "Oh my god, Danny. It's past nine. This was supposed to be an early evening. We both have work in the morning, and I loathe admitting it, but hangovers are so much worse now than in my twenties." She put her phone back in the clutch. "Hate to say it, but we need to wrap this up."

He smiled at her. "Who's old now?" He squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry, you're with an old man, remember? We'll head out right after I say goodbye to the Calloways." He drew her over to the piano where Ed and Elena were chatting between songs. The bassist was still plucking a melody out on his cello.

Elena looked up with a contented smile on her face. She moved over to Danny and whispered something in his ear, patting him on the back. His mouth fell open slightly, and he flushed a bit. He gave her a quick hug then turned toward Ed. "We're gonna head out. It's kind of late for doctors to be out on a week night." He grabbed Ed's hand and gave it a firm shake. "I can't tell you how sorry I am I've stayed away so long, Ed."

Ed grinned up at him. "Danny, this life we live is cyclical. Sometimes we think we have everything figured out, and it crumbles around us, and we think it can never be the same again. So we avoid all the things that remind us of what it once was. That's no way to live, so eventually you start doing the things you love again, and life just clicks back into place." He reached out to Elena and pulled her close to him. "I know you'll be coming around again." He gestured toward Mindy and she stepped forward grabbing his hand. Elena placed a hand on her shoulder. "You two have a good night."

* * *

The warmth Mindy felt under Ed and Elena's gaze was strange to her. It was as though she had received approval of some sort. She flushed a little, but shook Ed's hand anyway. She turned to Elena and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know I'll be back, if for the food alone." Mindy smiled as her and Danny retreated, his hand protectively on the small of her back.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's another chapter. Witty banter is hard to write. I envy those who do it effortlessly. I wish I were one of them. As always, your comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. I think once the new season starts I'll continue to write this, but also I would love to start taking ficlet prompts from people. I think it would be fun.**

CH 8

They made their way back out to the street to stand under the same light as before. As if on cue, a cab pulled up in front of them, its passengers ready to disembark. The cool night breeze had begun to pick up a bit. Mindy felt the shiver of goose bumps chase along her skin. It was chillier than she'd expected. She ran one hand up and down her arm in an attempt to generate some heat.

Danny cast a sideways glance at her. He couldn't say he'd noticed the chill in the air. He was still feeling the warmth of scotch coursing through his veins. A visible shiver coursed through her and Danny sighed. Having no jacket to drape across her shoulders, he did the next best thing. He put his arm around her and drew her in close.

She looked up at him and smiled. "God, Danny, you're like a million degrees." She reached up and pressed the back of one hand against his cheek. "Still trying to show me what a real man is?"

He smiled to himself. "You know I can't let these people think I'm such a jerk that I'd let my date stand shivering in the cold." He was beginning to feel more than warm with her pressed up against him.

She let out a little contemplative noise. "It irks me, but I will have to make one concession to you." She wound one arm around Danny's back. The wine had her feeling a little sleepy and introspective, not to mention lightheaded. "I do go after a certain type. I could be more discerning." She let out a little melancholic sigh.

The cab passengers finally emptied out of the vehicle and Danny maneuvered Mindy into it. She slid across the seat waiting for him to follow. When he was settled in next to her, he called out her address to the cabbie and turned his attention back to her.

She was staring at him as though she'd never seen him before, a dreamy expression on her features. He scooted closer to her. "You know what you're feeling right now, Min?" He turned away from her and faced the front of the cab. His hands resting in his lap. "You're intrigued right now. It's because you've realized that you don't really know me. It's the mystery. Being an open book may have some advantages, but it's the unknown that fascinates people."

She frowned to herself and shifted into the same position as Danny. They sat in silence for a couple minutes, both staring straight ahead. "Are you saying I'm an open book therefore uninteresting?" She'd meant for the words to come out in a different tone. Something confident and argumentative, but instead they sounded flat, sad even.

Danny didn't immediately reply so she continued, this time a little more heatedly. "I'll have you know, there are a lot of things you don't know about me. The things you think you know are the things I choose to divulge." She crossed her arms in front of her. "There's a certain power in that."

Danny looked back at her with a smile. "I'm not saying you're uninteresting. Sometimes I do find things out about you that surprise me. I'm saying that these guys you date only ever know that smokescreen you create for them. How can you expect them to stay interested for long?" He kept his hands on his thighs. He knew they were sweaty as hell. This conversation was making him uncomfortable. "You do it in such a way that makes it seem like you're an open book, they think they have the whole story, but they don't." Tomorrow he would regret this conversation. It was already making him feel awkward. What he was saying didn't really make sense.

Mindy's irritation began to fade away. She was left feeling confused. "I don't know what you're saying. Do you think I reveal too much of myself or too little?" She was still frowning.

Danny felt the last of the bravado he'd been assuming all night leave him. He was at a loss. He didn't know what he meant. Anything he could say now would just be even more jumbled and confusing. He sighed and laid his head back against the seat. "I don't know. It's a fine balancing act. Just be yourself, don't put all your cards on the table at once. Let people get to know you…. organically?"

Mindy let out a cynical little laugh. "Organically?" She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "That's very easy for a man to say. Do you have any idea of the pressure a woman my age feels to figure everything out quickly?" Mindy didn't like the note of self-pity in her voice. "I have a biological clock and its ticking gets louder with every unsuccessful relationship."

She was on the verge of tears. Ugh. This was not how this was supposed to go. She sucked it up. "Of course when you bring that up on a first date, the men seem to go running for the hills." She laughed. "Would something like that scare a real man, Danny?"

He laughed. "Oh, I don't know, maybe you should keep that to yourself until the second date, even real men have their limits." The strange tension in the cab was broken. "Ten to one says you'll be married to a hot doctor in a year or so, even if we have to tranq him to get him to the altar."

"Danny!" Mindy reached across the seat and slugged him in the arm. "And if I'm not? Will you step in to fill the spot?"

He laughed again. "Let's pray it doesn't come to that."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, right, you would never marry me, I had forgotten." She relaxed back into the seat "So we're done with the whole gentleman act? I'll miss Danny 'Jazzman' Castellano." She let out a yawn. "I'm exhausted, it feels like two am and it's not even ten yet. God, I am old." She leaned over and laid her head on his shoulder. "Don't wake me until we're at my place."

* * *

The cab slowed to a stop in front of Mindy's building. She was still resting her head against his shoulder. Her silken hair had fallen forward across her face, and the street lights shining through the window only cast a chequered illumination on her skin. She looked peaceful in sleep. The strains of concealed discontent he'd heard in her voice earlier were not visible in the lines of her face. Danny felt a little fluttering in his chest and took a deep breath to dislodge it.

He'd set out tonight to prove to her that she didn't know what to look for in men, but found himself fending off the inexorable pull of her personality. Maybe that's why she always ended up with these jerks. Because she made them feel like they could be better. That's how he'd felt tonight when he'd let go of the bitterness he carried around with him like a shield. Even if it was only for a night, it opened up a whole world of possibilities. It was ironic that he was the one trying to show her what kind of guy she should go after. There had been times when he'd been a bigger jerk to her than any of them.

He reached across to grab her shoulder and gently shake her. "Min, wake up. We're here."

She opened her eyes with a momentarily confused expression in them, but quickly remembered where she was and smiled up at him. She pulled away and stretched her arms out in an attempt to wake herself up. He paid the fare and slid out of the cab, turning back to assist her.

She grabbed his hand and used it to lever herself up. Her reflexes were still a bit fuzzy, and she ended up pulling both of them off balance. Danny quickly widened his stance and wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from slipping. They were pressed together in a manner reminiscent of the sensual dancing from before. Mindy caught her breath but continued to cling to Danny's shoulders.

Their lips were inches apart. The shortened breaths coming from each of the mingled before their faces. It seemed inevitable that they kiss. Mindy couldn't asked for a better moment if she'd been in one of her favorite rom/coms. Before she could close the tiny gap between their lips, the cabbie called out to them to shut the door.

The moment was lost and Danny quickly pulled away from her, reaching behind her to slam the door shut.

Mindy was caught between feeling disappointed and relieved. Kissing Danny would have been a mistake. Whatever she was feeling right now was just a result of the strange night they'd had together, and surely it had all been an act.

Oh, but she still wanted to kiss him.

* * *

Danny awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets and turned towards Mindy's stoop. They walked side by side up to her door. They stopped and for a minute Danny felt like a clumsy teenager on his first date. He just stood in front of her not saying anything.

She pulled out her clutch and opened it, searching for her keys. When she found them, she looked back up at him. "I had a really nice time." She leaned up and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Even when you were being a jerk." Her eyes sparkled. "I'm glad we're friends." She turned to the door and put the key in the hole.

Friends? The term didn't irritate Danny like it had before. They were friends. He could readily admit that now, but he didn't understand this other thing he was feeling. This fluttering that he'd been afflicted with off and on throughout the night. "Yeah, and friends don't let friends date assholes. Keep that in mind the next time I give you a hard time about your dates." He started back down the steps.

She twisted the key in the lock and heard the tumblers flip. She smiled at him as retreated. He looked over his shoulder one last time. "And keep all that Jazzman stuff to yourself tomorrow, Lahiri. A man's gotta keep some mystery about him."

* * *

Humming the melody of some unknown song, Mindy stood in front of her bathroom mirror brushing out her hair before she went to bed. She'd had a good time tonight. She'd been prepared for some awful bar food and a bunch of men yelling at a sports thing on TV. Danny had thoroughly surprised her.

She set the brush down on the countertop. She glanced over at the slightly wilted tiger lily lying beside it. She picked up the flower and ran the petals between her fingertips for the twelfth time. She picked it up and took it into her bedroom.

Her phone was lying on the night stand where she'd left it to charge. She used it to take a picture of the flower in the palm of her hand. Danny made fun of her for snapping digital pics of nearly everything, but it was her way of preserving the things she loved. She could open up the files and relive those moments whenever she wanted.

She scrolled through the pictures from today. She stopped on the one of Danny. He was smiling broadly and his eyes were relaxed. He'd just informed her she was 'not a bit' hot. At the time he had looked quite strange to her. She'd never seen him that way. He was happy. Because of her?

She felt a tightening in her chest. It was overwhelming to find yourself responsible for someone else's happiness. She didn't know how she would act around him in the morning. She shook herself out of that headspace. There was always a chance she was totally overanalyzing this. It was Danny. It would be fine. They'd be back to bickering as soon as the sun came up.

She smiled to herself and slipped under the blankets. Danny's lopsided grin was the last thing in her mind before she drifted to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is sort of an interim chapter. It's a necessary stepping stone to the next one. As always, I love your comments, criticisms, and suggestions. They are helping and encouraging. **

CH 9

It was Friday. Three days had passed since the "date." That was how Mindy was referring to it. Mentally giving the word quotes when she thought of it. It hadn't really been a date, had it? Danny certainly had played the part there for a little while, but it had all but disappeared once they'd said goodbye at the door.

The next morning at work it had really been business as usual, even though Mindy found it hard to look at him the same way. It turned out it hadn't been so hard to pretend the "date" had never happened. At least not for Danny. Mindy was even a little miffed at how easily he returned to is cantankerous self.

He'd been standing at the secretaries' desk flipping through his mail when she'd stepped through the elevator doors at 9:05. Without even looking up from the papers he'd said, "Late as usual, Dr. Lahiri." Then he'd tucked his mail under his arm and stalked over to his office.

She'd followed after him, not bothering to stop by her office first. "Excuse me? It's 9:05, Danny. Not exactly a crime." He'd already been sitting at his desk when she'd popped her head through the doorway. He'd barely looked up from his correspondence only to give her one of those patented "Danny Castellano has more important things to do" looks.

She'd huffed and started to stomp away from his door, but he'd called after her. "You're late, and you didn't even go running this morning. Not a great way to start the day, that's all."

Rather than respond, she'd just ignored him and continued on to her office. Ignoring him had been what she attempted the rest of the week, but she found herself staring at him sometimes. She'd remember that brief moment on the dance floor pressed up against him, or the touch of his hand brushing against her skin as he toyed with the ends of her hair. For a moment she would forget where she was, snapping back only when someone pointed it out.

Unfortunately, it was usually Danny that snapped her out of it. In the lounge at the hospital she'd found herself staring at him while he was watching TV. She'd assumed he was so engrossed in whatever disgusting man show he was watching that he wouldn't notice. After a couple minutes the pleasantly gravelly sound of his voice cut through her daydreaming. "Why do you keep doing that, you're giving me the creeps. Seriously, Mindy, it's like you're plotting to kill me or something."

She'd blinked and leaned back against the uncomfortable sofa, turning her attention back to the TV. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Alright, she was being weird, but how could he expect anything else. He'd basically displayed a clear case of multiple personality disorder, and now had reverted back to Danny #1.

He'd muted the TV and angled his head toward her. "Oh really? I've caught you doing that like five times today. Is there something wrong with my face?" He raised his hand and touched his cheek in inquiry. She found herself staring again. His eyes widened. "God, Mindy, what is it?"

She'd blinked and turned away from him. "It's just that.. well, nothing really. You're exactly the same as always." She'd grabbed the remote from his hand flipped through the channels until she found something filled with Kardashians.

Not even remotely satisfied with that answer, Danny had turned to fully face her. "Mindy."

No more "Min" huh? She frowned, but had continued to ignore him, and he'd given up and got up off the sofa.

He'd let out an irritated grumble. "I can only assume someone famous has had something truly terrible happen to them, and you're too emotionally shaken to talk about it, so I'm gonna get out of here, and leave you to your 'reality' show."

After that he'd left and she hadn't seen him before her next delivery. This morning he hadn't said a word to her when he'd walked in at 9:00. Not even to comment on her punctuality. He'd just grunted in passing, his nose stuck in a file. It was like the "date" had never happened.

And now she was in a bad mood. There was no helping it, and the fact that it was because of Danny irked her even more. How had he gotten under her skin that night? Right now he was either feigning disinterest, or he'd been faking really well that night.

She let out an irritated whine and slapped the file on her desk shut. She leaned back in her desk chair and placed her hands over her face. Never in a million years did she think hanging out with Danny one damn time could cause her this much irritation. She couldn't even pretend it wasn't about him.

She pulled out her phone for the twentieth time today and pulled up the photo of him from that night. He looked so different. So much less scowly. She felt a little warmth course through her when she looked at it.

Her phone unexpectedly buzzed and Mindy jumped as though she'd been shocked. The phone bounced to the carpet underneath the desk. Her heart was racing in her chest. God, it was like she'd just been caught doing something embarrassing. She glanced toward her door to make sure no one had seen her jumpy behavior.

She crawled under the desk to retrieve it, but couldn't quite reach it. She scooted even further underneath. She'd just brushed it with the tips of her outstretched fingers when she heard someone clearing his distinctly rattley throat. She groaned. Hell.

"Mindy, as tempting as it is, I don't think you can hide from work." He let out a quick laugh. "Besides, that desk of yours isn't really hiding much."

She snatched her phone and scooted out from beneath the desk. "Do you need something, or are you just coming in here to get on my nerves?"

* * *

Danny had been briefly confused after entering Mindy's office. He'd seen her come in with a pile of files just twenty minutes earlier, and he knew she'd never left, but she was nowhere to be seen. Over the past two days he'd developed this annoying habit of keeping tabs on her whereabouts. Not intentionally. Well, not totally intentionally. He was just unusually aware of her presence.

That night after leaving her place he'd walked home instead of calling a cab. The night air had seemed unusually fresh, and the briskness left him feeling hyper alert. He'd walked a couple blocks and felt this weird little ache in his jaw. He was smiling, and had been since he'd left her at her door.

That night had left him with an odd sensation of completeness. It wasn't that he just had a good time with her. It was more than that. For the first time in several years he had let go of the neuroses that he usually got hung up on. Seeing Ed and Elena again helped too.

When he'd stepped through the door of his apartment, all of the warmth from the night quickly evaporated. Whatever familial sentiment there had been before was confronted by the cold and empty reality of his living space. Ed and Elena weren't his happy parents, and Mindy wasn't his girl.

He'd been playing a part, and he'd gotten caught up in it. Elena had leaned in a whispered in his ear. "Danny, she's good for you. I haven't seen you happy in so long. Take a chance, hon." She'd withdrawn with a loving pat on his back.

He hadn't known what to say. She'd shaken him a bit. Did Mindy make him happy? It was hard to figure out. Off the top of his head, he could only think of the times she irritated him. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized that maybe Elena had been right.

By the time morning came, and he still hadn't made it to sleep, Danny had come to the realization that he'd come to rely quite a lot on her for his daily dose of cheer. It freaked him out a little. She'd become intricately woven into so many aspects of his life.

Wednesday morning, she'd breezed into the office slightly after nine. He'd heard the elevator doors slide open, and didn't need to look up to know who it was. Everyone else was already there. He recognized the cadence of her stride and even imagined that he could smell her perfume on the air.

The fluttering in his chest returned once again. He steeled himself against it. He had to do something about this burgeoning reliance he felt. He needed to reestablish boundaries.

Now though, seeing her bottom wiggling around underneath the desk, he forgot about those boundaries and a fluttering of a different kind afflicted him. He felt a groan creeping up and covered it with a joke.

What had he come in here to do? He cleared his distracted thoughts. "I have one of your files. Betsy put it in my inbox instead of yours."

She stood up completely and quickly took the file from his outstretched hand. She looked down at it. "Mrs. Bowden. That's right. We need to re-file with her insurance carrier. What a pain in the ass." She flipped through the other papers in the file, exhaling a frustrated gust of air that flipped her hair across her face.

The phone clutched in Mindy's hand began to buzz again. She looked down at it then back up at Danny. "I have to take this. Maggie's been pestering me all day. I think I've avoided her as long as possible." She tapped answer and put the phone up to her ear.

Danny stood in her doorway awkwardly caught between wanting to slink out unnoticed and the urge to eavesdrop. Mindy wasn't paying any attention to him so he didn't make a move to leave.

"Maggie, I've told you, I'm not really interested in that kind of thing….. Well, no, but ….. You don't understand. I've got to play catch up this weekend, I have so much paperwork… " She was pacing as she spoke. She was trying very hard to get out of whatever Maggie had planned. She stopped and frowned. "Who are you calling boring?... A firefighter? Like in those calendars?... I mean I guess I could clear my schedule tonight…."

Danny's felt a little wave of jealousy engulf him and was surprised. He wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his thighs, fidgeting. Mindy turned toward him as she finished the call. "Give him my number, we'll meet somewhere after I get off… Love you too."

She looked up at him. He felt the muscle in his jaw working while he tried not to say anything dickish. She saved him from saying anything by speaking first. "Maggie's always trying to set me up with her guy friends. They're not my usual types, but I've reevaluated my approach to dating. A firefighter will be a nice change of pace, plus she says he's hot." She drew out the last work, increasing the pitch of her voice.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Better than some hippy dippy new age weirdo." He stalked out of her office without waiting for her to reply.


	10. Thor the Firefighter

CH 10

Joe the firefighter was the epitome of male beauty. Mindy's jaw had dropped when she'd seen him standing at the bar where they'd agreed to meet. The initial irritation she'd felt towards him for calling and postponing their plans till nearly eight had evaporated. He was casually propped up against the counter chatting with the bar tender. The FDNY tee he'd told her he would be wearing was stretched to its limits across a pair of the broadest most well defined shoulders she'd ever seen. Good job, Maggie.

She walked up to his 6'3" frame and tapped him on the shoulder. He twisted around and she found herself looking up into the face of a Norse god. Icy blue eyes and a head full of shaggy blonde hair. She was on a date with Thor. Then he smiled a million kilowatt smile and she melted like chocolate in a beam of sunlight. Damn.

He offered her his hand. "You must be Mindy." She was still staring up at him, at a loss for words, possibly grinning like an idiot. She didn't make a move to take his hand so he reached down and grasped hers. "Maggie's told me a lot about you. Some sort of lady doctor?" His voice was raised a little, fighting over the loud music at the bar.

Mindy nodded, half yelling back, "Lady doctor… yeah." She was dazed a bit by his beauty.

He turned back toward the bartender, a very pretty, very tall red head wearing the skimpiest top Mindy had ever seen. Joe smiled up at her, wiggling his eyebrows and ordering drinks for the pair of them. He turned back to Mindy with two dark ales in his hands. Mindy fought the urge to wrinkle her nose, she was not an ale drinker, but whatever, she decided to roll with it.

She took the drink from his hand with a smile. "So, a firefighter, you pose for any of those calendars I've heard so much about?" She looked up at him, doing her best come hither look, hoping she didn't look deranged.

He leaned forward so he could hear her better. "Oh, yeah." He bellowed at her. "You're looking at Mr. December." He raised one arm and flexed a bicep, a clear invitation.

Mindy reached up and latched on, feeling the hard as rock muscles under her fingers. She expected quick shiver of desire to run through her, but nothing. She slowly moved her hand back to her drink. Hmmm, that was odd.

He was still smiling down at her, slightly nodding his head to the beat of the loud dance music pumping out over the speakers. She took a large drink of her ale, resisting the urge to pucker her lips at the bitterness. She set it back down and stood up on her tippy toes to yell into his ear. "Do you want to dance or something?"

She pulled away and looked up at his face, waiting for an answer. He frowned. "Not really my thing." He lifted his drink and chugged it, draining the glass and slamming it down on the bar. He turned back to the bar tender, winking at her, and ordered two shots of whiskey and before turning back to Mindy. He offered her the shot with that smile. God, did he ever not smile?

She reluctantly took the shot from his hand and tossed it back, using the bitter ale to chase it. Yuck. He reached around behind and slipped his hand down her back, resting on her backside. Whoa. "Maybe we can go do some dancing at my place, if you know what I mean." His hand gave her a slight squeeze and pulled her toward him, leaning in to nuzzle at her neck.

She put her hands up against him, pushing away the tickling bristle at her neck. "Whoa buddy, a deaf and blind nun would know what you meant." Suddenly she had a flashback to the last time she'd met an overly zealous guy at a bar. She looked up at him suspiciously. Maggie wouldn't…. would she?

She pushed him away a little further. "How do you know Maggie?"

He gave her a perplexed look, still not letting go. "Me and Mags go way back. She dated my brother years ago." He cocked his head to the side, satisfied with his answer, and went back in to nuzzle at her neck.

So maybe he wasn't a male prostitute, but Mindy wasn't feeling it. She wasn't blind, she knew he was mouthwateringly handsome, but she also noticed his eyes constantly wandering around the bar, distractedly flitting from one girl to another. Still playing the room. She sighed.

She pushed him away again. "Dude, we just met like twenty minutes ago, pump your breaks." In the past it wouldn't have bothered her. Someone this gorgeous. Someone so obviously interested when she was feeling a little insecure. In the past she would have been a sure thing. But now, she wasn't even feeling that thrill of desire that normally sang through her limbs. Nothing.

He pulled away and stared down at her. A little frown of disbelief temporarily replacing the perpetual smile. "Are you kidding?" He leaned back and hooked one thumb into one of his pockets. "Maggie told me this is what you were looking for right now." He reached forward and took her hand and pressed it up against his chest, slowly dragging it downward.

She snatched her hand from his grasp. "Chill. It looks like I'll have to have a talk with Maggie." She snatched her clutch off the bar and started to walk away. She felt a hand on her arm pulling her back slightly.

She turned back and Joe still had an expression of disbelief on his face. "_You _don't want _me_. This is ridiculous." He released her and swaggered back to the bar, calling out to the bartender. "Hey, Yolanda, looks like I'm free tonight."

Mindy found herself trembling with rage as she stomped out of the bar. That cocky son of a bitch. Maggie was going to get an earful. She pulled out her phone and called her. She picked up on the first ring with an overly chipper hello.

Mindy began without preamble. "What the hell were you thinking? Setting me up with some oversexed narcissistic Norse god?" She stomped down the street throwing her hand out to hail a cab.

Mindy could hear Maggie's laughter and it pissed her off more. Two cabs blew by before one finally stopped. "Mindy, he's exactly your type. Tall, confident, and handsome. You've been so tightly wound lately, I though you could do with a night of fun, that's all. Seriously, what happened?"

Mindy was momentarily speechless. Her type? Yeah. He was her type, right? Tall, blonde, blue eyes. Someone to tower over her and make her feel like a petite little bird. Right? Why was she wishing she was with someone she could comfortably look in the eyes, someone who called her "Min" in a soft voice before he cleared his throat and looked elsewhere? Damn it.

She quickly loaded herself in the cab and pulled her attention back to the conversation at hand. "Do you want me to be alone forever? I can't keep going out with men who don't respect me. No matter how blindingly gorgeous they are." She sighed on the last word. "I'm over thirty, Maggie. I just…" She choked a little on the last bit.

The cabbie looked back at her and cleared his throat. "Where we going, miss?" Mindy looked up at him perplexed. She didn't want to go home. Not to her empty single girl apartment. For the first time in her life she found it depressing. For so long it had been a symbol of her independence, a source of pride, now it was just a reminder that she was alone.

She gave the cabbie the address to _Shulman and Associates_. Maggie heard it and was confused. "Why are you going back to your office? It's after nine."

"I told you when you called earlier, I have a ton of paperwork to do. It's still piled up on my desk, since I spent the last half hour getting ready for this disaster of a date, which, by the way, he called and postponed as I was leaving the office." Mindy settled into the seat.

Maggie heard the oddly melancholic tone in Mindy's voice. "Hey, I'm sorry about Joe. I didn't realize you were taking a different approach these days. I knew he could be a bit of a dick sometimes, but he was always fun in college."

Mindy sniffed. "It's alright, Mag, I don't know what my deal is. I would have jumped him not too long ago." She said her goodbyes and settled her phone in her lap, flicking over to the photos once again. Danny's smiling face looked up at her. This was all his fault.


	11. Chapter 11

CH 11

The elevator doors opened to a darkened office. Mindy slowly poked her head through. The quiet kind of creeped her out. She'd never been at the office this late before. Usually if she had paperwork to do she just took it home. She found herself tiptoeing out of the elevator like a child sneaking into her parents' bedroom.

She realized what she was doing when she reached her office door and felt like an idiot. She walked over to her desk and flicked on one of the lamps. Too dim. She flicked the other one on. Still dim, but better. She had no urge to bask in the fluorescent overhead light, so unflattering, so she left it off.

Just as she'd told Maggie, her desk was covered in a huge stack of paperwork. Surely it hadn't grown since she'd left at five? She kicked her heels into one corner of her office and began rummaging through the files on her desk. There really were too many of them.

She turned around with a stack in her hand and began arranging them in a semicircle on the floor. The eerie quiet of the office began to get to her. Every time she heard a noise she would jump. What did people say that was? The building settling? Not reassuring.

After all the files were arranged on the floor she popped her phone onto the dock on her desk and tried to find something to listen to that would make her feel better, after a few minutes she settled on _ABBA's Greatest Hits. _Retro pop was strangely soothing to her after a bad date.

She settled down in the floor surrounded by the files and set to work. When _Gimme Gimme Gimme _came on she groaned and flopped back into the floor, settling the file folder over her face. This was a bad idea.

* * *

Danny juggled his takeout in one hand and the box of files he'd retrieved from the hospital in the other. Doing paperwork late on a Friday night. He needed to get a life. The elevator dinged and the doors whooshed open. The second he stepped through, he knew the place wasn't the same as when he'd left half an hour before.

He saw the light glowing underneath the door to Mindy's office and heard muffled music coming through it. What the hell was she doing?

Earlier, when she'd been running around getting ready for this blind date, his level of irritation had been through the roof. She'd continuously popped her head in his office to ask his opinion about this or that, then pointedly ignored everything he'd said. That was why she'd walked out of the office in a clingy blue dress and sky high heels.

She'd popped in and said, "How about this? Good for a casual date at a bar?" She'd gestured to her figure with her free hand.

The desire that had coursed through him had taken his breath away at the same time jealousy clutched at him. He'd felt the perspiration on his forehead and the heat pooling in the pit of his stomach. "You really shouldn't dress like that around here. Our patients will think we do pro bono work for hookers." Damn. What a dick.

She'd only rolled her eyes and put her hand up to her hair. It was in a cute little top knot. "What about the hair? Up or down?"

The hair was comparatively demure so he'd looked away and said, "Up." Then she'd immediately grasped the tie holding it and pulled it out, letting the silken wave cascade over her shoulders.

She'd smirked at him. "Thanks Danny, always helpful." When she'd marched to the elevator, the heels doing amazing things for her figure, the thought of her clinging to another man dressed like that punched him in the gut.

So he was jealous. What now? She clearly had no inkling of their being something between them. He'd gritted his teeth and watched the elevator doors close in silence.

Now, a sudden thrill of relief coursed through him. She was here at the office and not wrapped around some burly fire fighter. He set his file box and takeout down in the floor by the secretaries' desks and tread quietly to her door. He didn't know why he was being so stealthy. The closer he got the door, the louder the ridiculous music got.

He touched the handle, hesitating only for a second before swinging it open. He was prepared for a startled look from Mindy, and had a quick explanation on his tongue, but what he saw took the wind out of his sails.

There she was, lying in the floor completely surrounded by files, one folder open and lying over her face. A warm glow cast across the room by her two desk lamps. It was possibly the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen. The icing on top of the ridiculous cake in front of him were the words currently issuing from the speakers on her desk. _Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight. _

He couldn't help it, he burst into laughter. "Mindy what are you doing? Trying to open a portal to 70's music hell? Because I think you need to make a Pentagram with the files and not a semicircle."

She shot up without removing the folder from her face. It fell with a flutter to her lap. "Ugh, it's you."

The tears streaking her face immediately made Danny regret his joke. He moved quickly over to her side and knelt down. "Hey, what's going on? Did that guy do something?" His breath was caught in his chest, his voice gruff on the second question.

She dramatically flopped back to floor. "You know what? This is all your fault. It could have been a great night. It could have been a spectacular night. You ruined it."

Taken aback somewhat, Danny leaned back on his heels, his hands resting on his thighs. "What are you talking about, Lahiri." The tone of his voice quickly going from concerned to exasperated.

She tossed her arm across her face. "There he was. A Norse God. My very own Thor, doing sinful things to an FDNY t-shirt, looking down at me from an amazing height, with an expression that said, 'I will eat you up, little lady doctor.' There he was nuzzling my neck and grabbing my ass in a totally flattering and not demeaning way, and NOTHING." She moved her arm back to her side and propped herself up on her elbows glaring at Danny. "And, it's all your fault."

Danny ran the gamut of reactions as he was listening to her. In the space of a minute he'd felt perplexed, then insanely jealous, then pissed, then completely confused again. He gaped at her. "Please speak English, Mindy. I have no idea what you're trying to say."

The music was starting to get on his nerves. He got up and stepped over her to turn it off. The sudden silence in the room unnerved him. He could hear the beating of his heart and her heavy post-crying breaths. She sat up again and looked up at him. "Why did you take me out? I don't get it, you've been treating me like Typhoid Mary since that night. What's your deal, Castellano?"

Danny was dumbfounded. He didn't know what she was asking him. Or rather, he did and it freaked him out. He just stood there staring down at her. She rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in the air. "Help me up, I'm not used to you towering over me like this, it's weird."

He silently grasped her hands and hauled her up off the floor. She had planted her feet a little too close to his. They were standing toe to toe, and she was very nearly pressed up against him. "Danny, did you even have a good time at Ed's?" Her voice was abnormally quiet. She didn't release his hands.

His senses were overwhelmed. He could smell the mint on her breath as it mingled with whatever flowery shampoo she used. Plus there was that musky perfume that made him want to growl at her. The warmth that radiated from her body quickly permeated him. He was overheated in a matter of seconds.

He stepped back, slipping his now slick hands from her grasp. He crossed his arms and stared at her. "It was nice, I mean… it wasn't the worst night out I've ever had," He cleared his throat. "There were parts..." He uncrossed his arms and ran one hand through his hair. Something occurred to him and he glanced at her curiously. "Wait, did you have a good time?"

There was a slight edge to his voice. He hoped it covered the note of uncertainty underlying the words. She turned away from him, toeing one of the files on the floor in front of her. She mimicked him, "Oh, I don't know, not the worst night ever." She had her lips pooched out and her hand gesturing in front of her like a cartoon version of an Italian, doing her Danny impression, shrugging her shoulders.

The weight on Danny's chest lifted and the breath rushed in. His face relaxed into a half smile. He couldn't even pretend to be annoyed with her totally inaccurate impression of him. And it _was_ inaccurate. He didn't shrug like that, did he? He rolled his shoulders back.

This always happened. He found himself being drawn closer to her even though he was physically in the same space. That night at Ed's he'd felt that closeness, and the moment he left her immediate sphere of influence he began to overthink it. It had started to freak him out. Pushing her away seemed the easiest path, but here she was pulling him back in. He was powerless to stop it. He slipped back into that flirty camaraderie again. "Alright, Lahiri, I had a good time, and I know you did too. What the hell happened tonight though?" He gestured to the files scattered across the floor. "This isn't exactly where I thought you'd be right now."

She sighed. "He ordered my drink for me. It was disgusting. He didn't want to dance. He immediately wanted to move things back to my place. For a second there I thought Maggie had set me up with a…. what would you call him? A lady of the night?"

He felt the laughter bubble up unbidden and couldn't stop it. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time." She took two steps toward him and slugged him in the shoulder hard. "Ow!... Hey, you're the one who brought it up." He rubbed the spot where she'd laid it on him, the grin still plastered across his face.

She huffed out a resigned sigh. "Anyway, the night just wasn't going the way I thought it would, so I left. He had the audacity to imply that he was doing me a favor by feeling me up. Then he immediately started hitting on the red headed bartender he'd been eyeing the entire time." She had her hand on her hip, daring Danny to agree with Thor the firefighter.

This time the smile did fade from his face. "He sounds like a dick, Min. Is that why it's my fault? Because I told you to stop putting up with that crap?" Danny tried to say the words in an offhand manner, but felt they must have sounded a little too wistful.

She rolled her eyes. "Please Danny, give me a little credit. Even I could tell he was a dick." She walked back to the center of her files and sat down. "Now, I have to get some of this done." She glanced up at him, a confused look darting across her features. "Wait, why are you here this late?"

Danny gestured toward her door. "I stayed late to do paperwork too. Only, around eight I realized I was starving, so I went and picked something up, and I stopped by the hospital to pick up some patient files."

Her eyes widened a bit. "You have food?" The enthusiasm in her voice caught her by surprise. She reigned it in. "Ahem… I mean, food, yeah, that's a good idea." She stared up at him with pleading puppy eyes.

Danny wasn't going to give in. She'd have to ask. After a few seconds she gave up. "Come on, Danny. I'm starving, I didn't eat anything at that questionably decorated bar, that redhead probably would have spit in it anyway." He still didn't say anything. Just leaned back against her desk with his arms crossed.

He smiled. "Don't you ever say please?"

She batted her eyelashes at him. "Please? Wouldn't a 'real man' just be chivalrous and give it to me?"

Sure. He caved. "Fine. You win. It's Chinese, so we'll have to go family style and share." He stepped over her and exited her office to retrieve his food and files.


	12. Chapter 12

CH 12

They ate together, sitting in the floor, legs crossed, joking around and talking about Mindy's taste in music. "You can't say 'I like old music too' just because you're sitting in here listening to _ABBA._" Danny's voice morphed into laughter on the last word. "You didn't even know who _ABBA _was until you watched _Mama Mia_ a couple years ago."

She looked across at him over the frames of her glasses. "That's beside the point. It IS seventies music. So you can't say that I don't listen to anything that didn't come out in the past year. That's all I'm trying to say." She picked up an eggroll and used it as a pointer. "And now, you can't pretend you haven't seen _Mama Mia._" She took a triumphant bite.

Danny's mouth dropped open. "No, you just wouldn't stop singing every single song from the movie for like a week after you saw it. I had _Take a Chance On Me _stuck in my head for days. I hate that song." He shook his head.

She hopped up and turned the music on her phone back on, the volume decreased a bit. "Just for that, we're listening to this entire album, on repeat, while we do paperwork."

She was thoroughly enjoying this. Earlier, when she'd been a sad sack lying on the floor, crying to herself, she'd thought tonight was going to be a complete loss. When Danny had popped into her office, she hadn't even really been surprised. If she could be honest with herself, she'd have to admit that there had been a tiny hope in the back of her mind.

Her irritation with him for ruining her night had not been faked, though. When he'd stepped into the office, laughing at her predicament, she'd wanted to strangle him. But it was mostly because her heart did a little two step beat when she'd heard that laughter. And he was back to calling her "Min." She smiled.

* * *

Hours later they were both sitting in the floor surrounded by closed files and empty takeout containers. Mindy reached up and took off her glasses. "Danny, it's like 2am. I'm exhausted." She stretched her legs out in front of her and started wiggling her toes. "My feet are asleep. I think I've been in the same position for the past hour."

The numbness in her feet started to turn into stinging pinpricks on her feet and up the back of her calves. "Ah. That hurts so much." She reached down to massage the feeling back into her legs. It wasn't working. She grunted.

Danny leaned forward. "Here, let me." He didn't wait for her response. He brushed her hands out of the way and cradled one foot in his hands, squeezing intermittently, traveling slowly up her calf. She leaned back on her elbows a bit

Mindy held her breath. This was a surprise. There was that zing of desire she'd expected to feel when pawing at Thor earlier. Danny glanced up at her with a question on his lips. She hadn't heard it. "Huh?" Had she ever noticed how nice brown eyes were before?

Danny repeated his question. "That any better?"

His hands stilled, resting gently against her knees. She gawked at him, her mouth briefly opened and closed like a fish. She snapped herself out of this weird feeling and sucked in a short little breath. "Uh, yeah, better." She drew her knees up to her chest. Ever since that dreamlike night, she'd been unable to read Danny.

In the past she could tell when she was making him uncomfortable. She'd known he found her attractive, but there's a difference between finding someone attractive and actually being attracted to them. She'd always assumed it was the former. At least that's how it had always been on her side, but now she couldn't figure it out.

Danny leaned back on his knees and started collecting his files and placing them back in the box. She found herself staring at him like before. She liked looking at him this way. He was preoccupied with the task at hand, picking up files and reading the names on them before settling them back in the box. She had the sudden urge to thread her fingers up through the hair at his nape. "Are you attracted to me?" The words spilled out unbidden.

He froze, a file in one hand hovering over the top of the box. He was looking down and she couldn't see any expression in his eyes. He dropped the file in the box and looked up at her, too guarded for her to glean anything. He blew out a long breath. "Well…. You are an, um… attractive girl, that is… ahem… or rather, uh, to say… woman."

She rose up on her knees and scooted over closer to him, the carpet slightly abrading her skin. She wanted an answer, and the words coming from him were just more of what she already knew. "That's not what I asked. I know I'm an attractive girl/woman. I have eyes. I wanted to know if _you_ were attracted to me."

He swallowed and took a deep breath, preparing to say something, but nothing came out. Well, well, well, look what we have here. Mindy felt a little sense of smug satisfaction. So he was attracted to her.

She saw the moment when he decided to pretend nonchalance. He put on the half smile and gestured at her a little too emphatically. "Mindy, I see you five days a week, sometimes more. Don't you think if I were attracted to you, I would have done something about it already?" His eyebrows were raised in inquiry.

He could pretend to be unaffected, sure, but there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead a deer in headlights look on his face. "Still not answering the question." She was only inches away from him now, and she could feel the heat radiating from him. He swallowed as she scooted a little closer. "If only there were a way for you to prove it. I'm not convinced. You've always been completely obsessed with me." She was directly in front of him now, nose to nose. "We could put this to rest right now, if you're man enough."

As if on cue, the music flowing from her dock changed to something softer. _I've seen you twice, in a short time. Only a week since we started… _He released the breath he'd been holding in a stuttering exhale. "How is that?" The words came out in a hoarse whisper. _It seems to me, for every time, I'm getting more open-hearted…_ He made a slight throat clearing noise.

She smiled and closed her eyes. "Well, if you're not attracted to me, you should be able to kiss me and not be affected. Just one chaste and totally dispassionate kiss and I'll be completely convinced."

* * *

Danny's mind was racing. She giving him a free pass, right? There was always a chance she was just screwing with him. He couldn't count the times she'd accused him of being in love/obsessed with her. He knew she enjoyed ruffling him. If that were the case, he could just disengage afterwards and pretend it was nothing.

Looking at her in the soft glow of the dim lights, he couldn't back away. He leaned forward nuzzling her cheek with his nose. He felt her breath catch when she inhaled sharply. "Maybe I'm not the one experiencing an attraction. Can you promise you won't get all clingy afterwards? You won't follow me home and ask me to marry you?" The question came out shaky in spite of Danny's attempt at a cavalier attitude.

Her hands, initially perched on her hips, fell limply to her side. Danny lifted his own to her shoulders as he moved to the other side of her face, brushing his cheek against hers. "If anyone's going to beg for someone's hand in marriage, it's you." The whispered prediction fell against Danny's ear in a hot puff.

She slipped her arms up between them and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him away from her face. "Going to do it or not, Castellano?"

He slipped his arms from her shoulders to the sides of her face, and leaned into her, taking her lips with his. For the shortest two seconds of his life he contemplated trying to prove her wrong and keep the kiss chaste, but he couldn't. She _was_ right. He couldn't deny it when she was so clearly returning the attraction.

He released her lips only to roughly capture them in a real kiss this time. He felt her fingers curl up on his collar, pulling him into her. Their thighs bumped as they both scooted their knees closer together. He explored the soft curve of her lips with his own, delving into the sweetness with his tongue. She whimpered and something inside him broke. He moved his hands from her face and wrapped them around her, trying to press himself even closer.

If things continued at this pace, he wouldn't be able to stop at kissing, and he didn't think she'd really thought this through. The possible ramifications of sleeping together were too enormous to rush headlong into this, even though that's how she usually approached life.

He reluctantly withdrew and pressed his forehead against hers, panting a bit, his chest heaving in unison with hers. "See?" He said unsteadily. "N-nothing."

* * *

_What's the name of the game?  
Does it mean anything to you?  
What's the name of the game?  
Can you feel it the way I do?  
Tell me please, 'cause I have to know  
I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow_


	13. Chapter 13

CH 13

Mindy opened her eyes, still breathing heavily and pulled her face back from Danny's. She stared, trying to focus. It took a moment for his words to sink in. When understanding finally settled over her she frowned and narrowed her eyes, looking up at him through her lashes. "Uh huh. Nothing at all."

The words came out quietly. She released her hands fisted in his collar and slipped them to his shoulders, squeezing slightly, kneading at the muscles. She felt the tenseness there. "You are such a terrible liar."

Danny's heartbeat picked up its pace. The pounding sent the blood rushing through his body to the surface of his skin. The flush that crept up to his ears didn't escape her notice. She leaned into him more, pushing him back until he had no choice but to go from kneeling to sitting, throwing a free arm out behind him to prop himself up.

Mindy, still on her knees, hovered over him. "Nothing? Like this?" She scooted closer, straddling one of his legs between her knees. She moved her hands from his shoulders and placed one at the nape of his neck. A small sigh of satisfaction slipping through her lips as her fingers threaded through his hair. Her other hand rested gently on his chest.

She was going to kiss him senseless. She was going to kiss him until he no longer had the power to even pretend disinterest. She glanced down at his lips one last time, a hot dart of desire darted through her and the breath caught in her throat.

Before she could lean down, the look in Danny's eyes changed, a glowing ember sparked in their depths. If he stared at her like that much longer, she would burst into flames. She swallowed and caught her breath. "Danny—"

Danny sat forward again, invading her space further. He slipped his hand around the back of her neck and drew her to him, crushing his lips against hers and pulling her to the floor. He kissed her fervently, devouring her and probing for more. Pressed flush against him, Mindy could feel Danny's heart beating along with hers.

Suddenly she was conscious of the fact that she was lying completely on top of him. She tried to shift to the side, but he grunted in displeasure and his hands traveled to her waist, holding her captive. She pulled away from his kiss. "Danny, I'm crushing you."

He frowned up at her. "Min, I'm a man, not some delicate little flower. You could never crush me." His hands traveled downward from her waist and rested on her backside. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "I like you right where you are."

Her moment of insecurity embarrassed her. She searched her mind for some snappy comment to lighten the mood. She couldn't find one. She laid her head on his shoulder for a moment before lifting it again and kissing him gently. This wasn't what she expected. She'd wanted an acknowledgement of whatever physical attraction there was between them, but now there was a little ache in her chest. For a man who continually said the wrong thing, he sure was an overachiever when he finally said the right thing.

It only took a few seconds for the intense pace from earlier to return. The gently kissing quickly led to the overwhelming desire to consume the other person. Mindy mindlessly pulled at the buttons on Danny's shirt while he pushed the straps of her tight blue dress down her shoulders.

They were both panting from their exertions when the music on Mindy's phone suddenly stopped and it began ringing. Before she could react, Danny's pocket started vibrating and trilling too. She pulled back from him. "What the hell? It's almost three a.m. Are you on call tonight?"

The confusion on Danny's face told her he wasn't. "Are you?"

She shook her head and reluctantly propped herself up on her hands, slowly standing up. She plucked her phone off the dock, looking at the screen. "It's the hospital."

Danny reached in his pocket and retrieved his phone. "It's Mr. Allen."

Their eyes locked. "Damn." They both answered their phones at the same time. She listened intently for a minute. "Yes, I'm at the office right now. I'll be there soon."

Danny was standing by her desk, one hand on his hip, a concerned look on his face. "Calm down. I know it's early, but twins usually come early….No, I'll be there in a minute. I'm close by." He ended the call and looked back up at Mindy. "Mrs. Allen is in labor and progressing fast."

Mindy ran over to her wardrobe and flung it open. "She's only at 32 weeks. One of the babies was in breech position the last time she was here. We'll have to do a c-section probably immediately." There was an urgency in her voice. She grabbed her sneakers and set them on the floor, turning back to him as she wiggled into her shoes.

Danny bent down and shuffled through Mindy's files until he found Mrs. Allen's. He turned around to ask her something, but Mindy had already flown through the door of her office and was running toward the elevator. He snapped the file shut and chased after her.

Once they were in the elevator, Danny opened the file again. "You have her on blood pressure medication? Does she have preeclampsia?" He flipped through the file searching.

Mindy didn't need to look at the file. Mrs. Allen was her patient, she knew that file backwards and forwards, just like she knew all of her files. "Borderline preeclampsia. Her levels were worrisome, so I ordered bed rest, but I have a feeling she was going a bit stir crazy." She was tapping her foot. "God, we should have taken the stairs."

Something occurred to Danny. "How did Mr. Allen get my number?" He closed the file again and stared at her. She looked at the ceiling, avoiding his gaze. "Mindy?"

She sighed and looked back at him. "Ok, so maybe I give my patients your number, just in case they can't get in contact with me. You know, if there's an emergency or something." She was biting the inside of her cheek. She mumbled something.

Danny leaned closer. "What was that, Lahiri?" He'd heard the words, but he wanted to hear them again.

She cleared her throat. "I said you're the only doctor I would trust to take care of my patients." The confession was spoken rapidly. "But I should have known Mr. Allen wouldn't wait to see if the hospital contacted me. He's been so neurotic throughout this entire pregnancy. It drives his wife crazy."

There was a wide grin on Danny's face as the elevator doors slid open. Mindy rushed out and exited the lobby in a flash. Danny tucked the file under his arm and ran after her.

* * *

Danny stood in front of the large glass window, looking out across the NICU. Exhaustion wrapped around him like a heavy blanket. He let out a loud yawn.

The twins' birth had been a nightmare. When Mindy and Danny had arrived at the hospital the labor had progressed too far. Her cervix was completely dilated, and baby A was crowning. The urge to push was overwhelming the mother.

Mindy and Danny had rushed to their lockers and quickly changed into their scrubs in silence. Standing at the scrub sinks, Danny glanced over to Mindy. She had an expression of complete focus on her face. He could see the gears turning. He knew she was mentally reviewing Mrs. Allen's file while lathering the soap on her hands, radiating her usual confidence.

Without looking at him she'd began a rundown of what they were going to do. "I'm taking the lead on this. She is my patient, but I want you to monitor the heart-rates of the twins and Mrs. Allen. I'm worried about her blood pressure." She rinsed her and dried her hands and held them in front of her as she walked to the delivery room. Danny had closely followed.

Standing at the window, looking down at the twins, Danny felt tired yet satisfied. The two tiny infants were curled up together in one incubator. They were so incredibly small. No matter how many times he delivered preemies, their size never failed to leave him in awe.

Mindy also left him in awe. After she'd examined Mrs. Allen, she'd decided to deliver both babies, no c-section. Danny had pulled her to the side and quietly asked, "Are you sure about this?"

She looked up at him. "We're too far along to wait for the anesthesia on a c-section. Especially for the baby that's crowning. Breech births aren't impossible. If the second baby is turned sideways, they're so small, I should be able to reposition it before delivery." And that's exactly what she'd done.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see a tired Mindy standing slightly behind him. Her hair was pulled back in a now scraggly pony tail, her scrubs completely rumpled. She looked like she was about to pass out. "Mrs. Allen is finally resting. She lost some blood, but not enough to cause worry." She sighed and propped her chin on Danny's shoulder, looking out across the NICU. "Where are they?"

He gestured to the left side. "Right there. We decided to co-bed them. Baby A, Emma, was showing signs of distress. They both weigh under four pounds. Emma had an erratic heart-rate and uneven breathing, but when we put them together she immediately stabilized." She was pressed up against his back. He could feel the steady rise and fall of her chest against him. He crossed his arms and widened his stance.

She yawned at his ear. "She just missed her sister. It's the first time they've ever been separated." She glanced across the room at the other babies. "Can you believe we all used to be this small?"

He chuckled to himself. "Castellano babies are never this small. I weighed in at almost ten pounds." He heard the tinkle of her laughter in his ear and a warmth spread through his limbs. He turned toward her. "What about you? Were you a fat little Indian baby?"

She snorted. "You have no idea." She yawned again. "Oh, I'm so tired." She stretched and leaned back against the window, now facing Danny. "I think I'm gonna head home."

He looked at her. It wasn't the time to bring up what happened at the office, but it was all he could think about. "I'm gonna head out too. If you wait a minute we can walk out together."

She nodded in acquiescence and followed him to the locker room. She stood in the doorway watching him as he rifled through the things in his locker looking for his keys. After a few minutes of fruitless searching he sighed and looked at her. "I must have left them at the office."

She rolled her eyes. "Danny, I am going home, and you look like you're about to fall asleep standing up." She reached into the pocket on the front of her scrub top. "I have my keys, unlike you. How about you walk me home, and take a nap on my couch?" She leaned against the doorjamb, the question still in her features.

Go home with her? Just to sleep on her couch. His eyes were heavy and his arms felt leaden. The thought of going back to the office to get his keys made him want to bang his head on the wall. He could just stay here and sleep in the lounge for a couple hours. He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, I guess that could work."

She smiled. "Ok, let's go." She headed out, clearly expecting him to follow. He slammed the locker shut and caught up with her at the exit. He pushed though the large glass doors and followed her out onto the sidewalk. She had stopped and was staring out at the horizon. The sun was rising, an orange glow cast along the city skyline. She smiled, looking back at Danny. "You coming, Castellano?"

He walked up next to her and she slipped his arm though his. She looked him up and down briefly. "We're twinkies."

He frowned. "What?" He looked at himself then her, confusion on his face.

"We're dressed exactly the same." She started walking, pulling him along. "What a weird sight we must make. Two bedraggled doctors, looking half dead, dragging themselves along the sidewalk in the early light of dawn."

He smiled. "Don't worry, Mindy. None of your hot dates will see you. They're probably not even awake right now." He looked back at her face. "Besides, you look nice in scrubs."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I don't really have much to say about this chapter. Just wanted to thank everyone that's been leaving reviews. I find them incredibly encouraging, and I appreciate every single one of them. I would love it if you specifically told me which things you liked and which things you weren't so fond of. Also, I would love to know what things you might want included in here. I love messing with tropes, but so far I've only done a couple of them. Feel free send me suggestions.**

Ch 14

As they walked up to her building, Mindy pulled away from Danny to unlock the door. Once the key slipped into the lock, flipping the tumblers with an audible snick, she glanced over her shoulder at him. She smiled. He looked the way she felt, and probably looked as well. Totally beat. Finely drawn lines of exhaustion etched his face.

He'd been here before, but Mindy unexpectedly felt awkward. She hadn't cared what he thought before. As they walked toward the elevator in the lobby she glanced up at him. "I wasn't prepared for a guest, so keep your mouth shut about the state of my place."

They stepped into the elevator. Danny trailing a few steps behind her. "I'm sure it's not that bad. Not everyone can keep an immaculate living space, like myself. It takes a certain amount of discipline."

She looked over at him with an annoyed expression. "Please put your superior attitude away. I'm too tired to argue with you." She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. "And you're about as disciplined as a stray dog."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He looked at her with a slightly contorted smile. He was trying not to laugh.

What did it mean? She had no idea. She just hadn't been able to think of anything else to say. "Well, for one, you totally cannot control your primal urges." She huffed out a breath. "Also, there's a pretty good chance you'll make a mess on the floor if I leave you alone."

The elevator arrived at her floor and the doors slid open. She stepped out, not waiting for Danny. He followed closely behind her. "So. My primal urges? You had some trouble keeping a leash on yours, if I remember correctly. Of course, that only supports my original thesis."

She had stopped at her door and was fumbling with her keys. A bout of nerves had overcome her. It just occurred to her that she'd invited Danny to spend the night with her. Well, not the night. It was daylight out, but he would be sleeping at her place. On the couch.

"Oh, Daniel, how little you know." She finally regained her normal dexterity and shoved the key in the lock and turned it, a little more forcefully than necessary. "Everything that happened back at the office, was exactly what I wanted to happen. You were in the palm of my hand." Liar.

Danny was getting slightly perturbed. She had continued across her apartment to her bedroom, entering it before he could catch up with her. When he reached her room she was back in the doorway, holding a pillow and blanket.

He walked up to her, standing face to face, perhaps a little closer than necessary. He smiled, and it unsettled her. It wasn't a sweet smile. It was the smile of someone who was plotting something. "Mindy, trust me, we both would have known if you'd had me in the palm of your hand." Her arms were occupied, and she couldn't shove him away like she wanted. Because, she wanted to shove him away, right? "You couldn't have been paying that close attention if you think I would fit in the palm of your hand."

Her eyes widened. He took the bedding from her arms and turned around, headed back towards her couch. She felt her ears burning. She was not prude, but this was so strange coming from him. She strode after him. "Well, I suppose there's only one way to settle this." This was beginning to be a ridiculous habit of hers, but it was the only way she could get what she wanted without asking for it outright.

"What's that, Min?" He had settled the pillow on one arm of her couch and kicked off his shoes, draping the blanket across it.

The look on his face told her he knew exactly where she was going with this. She lost her momentum. "Oh, never mind. I'm too tired for this." She spun on her heel and stalked into her room, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her.

She wasn't used to being the one thrown off balance. That comment. What the hell was that? He didn't have any right to say something so suggestive with such a beguiling look on his smug face. He had no right at all to make her think about touching him… there. The fact that her mouth had suddenly become dry, and a swift thrill of desire ran through her only pissed her off even more.

She approached the window and closed the blinds, drawing the curtains across them for good measure. While not completely dark, the room was dim enough to sleep in.

She walked over to her bed and picked up the pillow laying on it and started whacking it into the shape she wanted. She tossed it back on the bed and angrily kicked off her shoes. She needed to take a shower, but didn't have it in her to do it. She didn't even have it in her to take off her scrubs.

She reached up to the back of her head and yanked out the hair tie holding up her mass of hair. It cascaded in a tangled mess down over her shoulders. She caught her reflection in the mirror over her dresser. God, she looked like a sexually frustrated wild woman. Ugh.

She took off her glasses in irritation and set them on the nightstand and just collapsed diagonally across the bed without even pulling back the coverlet. She was going to sleep for hours and hours. Lying on her stomach, she buried her face in the pillow and groaned.

Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't Danny still be the irritatingly grumpy coworker that he used to be? She liked that. Well, she sort of liked that. Sometimes he really pissed her off, but whatever this was right now was so much worse. This silly little game they were playing had her on edge. Wouldn't a real man just make a move? Or, if he wasn't really interested, at least back off?

* * *

Damn. Danny had been sure she was going to basically dare him to sleep in her bed just to prove he could control his "primal urges." He'd liked the game she'd been playing with him. It left him open to explore his feelings for her, but was still safe enough that he could back away without embarrassment.

It looked like she was getting bored with it. The disappointment filling him left him feeling deflated. He looked at the looked at the wrinkled cover and limp pillow laying across Mindy's sofa. It really didn't look comfortable. A doctor needed quality rest even if it was Saturday, even if the aforementioned doctor had absolutely no plans. That sounded right.

He glanced over to her bedroom door. She might not be asleep yet. Before he could change his mind, he scooped up the bedding on the couch and tiptoed over to her door, pausing briefly to listen for sounds of movement. Hearing nothing he placed his hand on the hand and pushed the door slightly ajar, leaving a slim crack to peer through.

There she was. Lying face down on her bed, still in her scrubs. A few rays of light sneaking through the curtains cast glowing lines across the bed. He felt a tug in his chest and swallowed. After a few seconds of staring he began to feel like a creep peeping on her like this. He pushed the door open further and it squeaked.

Her head popped up from the pillow to look at him. "What's the matter, Danny? Pillow too soft for a real man?" She frowned and laid her head back down on the pillow, her cheek pressed down on it, one eye still on Danny.

He just stood there, silently staring. For a moment he'd forgotten what he'd intended to do. He just wanted to crawl onto the bed and lie next to her. He stood there in silence, his mouth slightly open, ready to say something. Finally he looked away. "That sofa of yours is awful. You don't actually expect me to be able to fall asleep on it, do you?"

The irritated look on her face turned thoughtful. She propped herself up on one elbow. "Well, it isn't exactly made for sleeping." She was biting the inside of her cheek again. She turned completely on her side, facing him. "I suppose, since I'm grateful for your help with Mrs. Allen, you could share the bed with me." She patted the coverlet in front of her.

The swiftness with which Danny moved from the door to her side surprised even him. Mindy's eyes widened when he plopped down beside her. "Eager much?"

Danny merely glanced at her while he positioned his pillow behind his head, turning towards her as he did it. "I'm exhausted, Lahiri. Why don't you stop talking so we can get some much needed sleep?" He'd dropped the cover in his hand on the floor beside them.

* * *

Mindy smiled to herself. The position they were in was reminiscent of a slumber party. Their perfectly mirrored body positions imbuing her with a sense of camaraderie. They were just two girls about to settle in for the night, possibly intending to gossip before falling asleep. She'd never wanted to run her thumb across her girlfriend's bottom lip while talking before, to feel the stubble across the chin. Although there had been that one girl with a mustache. A decidedly different situation was lying in front of her.

She drew her gaze away from his mouth, settling on his eyes. They were as tired looking as hers. The eyelids drooping slightly, ready to close completely at any moment. "No funny business, Castellano." She was about to flip over to her other side when she felt his hand on her arm.

Her motion stilled, she looked up at him questioningly. He leaned in close and gently settled his lips on hers. For a moment neither of them moved, lying there in perfect stillness, breathing in each other. The hand resting on her arm began a circular caressing as his lips nibbled at hers.

He pulled back, gazing down at her. "You did an amazing job with those twins." His hand traveled from her arm to the side of her face, resting their lightly, his thumb grazing the skin under her eye. "No funny business." He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly one more time, before pulling back and settling into his pillow. "Neither of us has the energy for it right now."

She reluctantly turned over, her back to him now. After a few seconds she felt him moving around. An arm draped over her waste and his hot breath rested by her ear. "I can't promise anything after I've had a few hours of rest though, as far as primal urges go."

Mindy smiled to herself, relaxing into his embrace, her breathing syncing with his. Within minutes the two of them were snoring softly in the dim light filtering through her curtains.


	15. Chapter 15

CH 15

Mindy stared down on a still sleeping Danny. In repose he looked much younger. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed beside him, chin resting on an arm propped on her knee. It was a position she'd been in for at least ten minutes. When she'd awoke, she'd been facing him, their bodies aligned head to toe. Her chest had been pressed up against his, her face nestled into the hollow of his neck.

He was still on his side, one arm tucked under the pillow resting against his cheek, the other thrown out in front of him, fingers splayed against the coverlet. This was yet another side of Danny she was seeing for the first time. Sure, she'd seen him asleep before, in the lounge while on call, but even then there'd been a guarded expression on his face, as if his body knew it could be jerked awake at any moment. Now it was like watching a child sleep.

In the moments after she'd roused from her sleep, she hadn't been able to form coherent thoughts. A delicious warmth had surrounded her, and she'd burrowed into it briefly before realizing its source. When she'd remembered that it was Danny dozing next to her, a flood of self-consciousness swept over her. She knew she looked a mess. No makeup. Her hair was a rat's nest. The wrinkled scrubs bunching in all the wrong places.

She'd carefully slipped out of Danny's embrace. He'd still been sleeping heavily, even faintly snoring a bit still. Just when she'd been about to rise from the bed and head to the bathroom, she'd glanced down at him. Here she was, ten minutes later, still looking.

There was something so familiar about the way he looked right now. She was sure she'd never seen him like this, but an odd sense of awareness permeated her. Before, she'd perceived two Danny Castellanos. One was the impossibly arrogant, impossibly cocky, man's man that drove her insane. The other was the sweating neurotic mess that sometimes needed her for moral support.

It hadn't been until their date-that-wasn't-a-date that she'd begun to see him for who he might really be. Being presented with yet another facet of his personality overwhelmed her. He grunted in his sleep and rolled over onto his back. She could see his whole face now, and it suddenly occurred to her where she'd seen him like this before.

This was the relaxed expression he wore on his face right before he became aware of her presence. She'd seen it countless times and not even comprehended it. Those times she had just barged into his office, words already pouring from her mouth and he would look up at her, for the tiniest of moments, with this expression, before a mask settled down over it.

Did she do that to him? She felt a little bit guilty. Their relationship was prickly at times, but she'd always thought she was reacting to the way he behaved, not the other way around. She frowned.

She laid her hand on the coverlet beside his, timidly brushing the tips of his fingers. The slight touch sent a shiver up her arm. She was so engrossed in staring at his hand that she nearly squeaked in surprise when he moved it to grasp hers.

She looked up at his face. The relaxed expression was still there, the upward curve of his lips brightening it. She felt a flutter in her stomach and cleared her throat. "Danny." She felt so strange right now. It was as though she were missing some integral part of her brain that distinguished dreams from reality. "I'm sorry."

The slight smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by a look of mild puzzlement. He sat up in the bed, propping himself up against her headboard, still not breaking the hold on her hand. "As much as I love to hear those words coming from you, along with 'you're right,' I have no idea what you're apologizing for." His thumb traced lazy patterns across the back of her hand.

She searched her mind, trying to figure out the right way to phrase it. "Sometimes I'm unnecessarily mean to you." She squeezed his hand. "Don't get me wrong, there are times when you're totally asking for it." She smiled. "But, most of the time it's just this knee jerk reaction I have, and you don't deserve it."

He laughed. "We do fight like middle school kids sometimes." He reached up with his free hand and playfully yanked on a length of hair falling over her shoulder.

She nodded. "That's exactly it, for me anyway. When I'm around you, I feel like I did when I was thirteen." She scooted closer to him, leaning back against the headboard too. They were side by side, hands entwined, each one staring intently ahead into the mirror on the dresser in front of the bed. She looked at his reflection. "Suddenly, I'm this tubby little Indian girl using her wit to make sure the cute popular boy knows that it doesn't matter if he doesn't like her, launching a preemptive strike." She looked away from his reflection. Admitting insecurity was something she did not do. "I didn't even realize I was doing it to you."

Danny's heart was in his throat. The soft feel of her palm pressed up against his filled his thoughts. He turned his face to her. "You think I don't like you?" Genuine concern wiped the puzzled expression from his face.

She cast him a shrewd look. "Don't pretend you didn't beg Shulman not to hire me." She smirked at him when his mouth fell open. "He told me on my first day. Something about 'changing the carefully cultivated tone' of the office."

Danny shifted uncomfortably beside her. This was the perfect opportunity to broach the subject of their relationship. He could tell her that he'd begged Shulman not to hire her because he was afraid of her gregarious personality. He'd been daunted by her sunshine and rainbows. He'd always sort of had a raincloud disposition, and he knew people would gravitate toward her. He'd been afraid of being pushed aside.

But there she'd been, pulling him reluctantly into the middle of everything she did. He could never quite regain that storm cloud hovering over him. As much as he wanted to grump about making paper snowflakes for the office party or stopping for pastries on his morning run, there was always a part of him filled with warmth when he realized she'd thought of him.

"Hey, what was I supposed to expect? You showed up for your interview in a neon yellow dress with tiny little bears on it." He squeezed her hand. "I should have known better though, I'd seen you in the delivery room before. To be honest, I'd always been jealous of the rapport you have with patients."

Mindy pursed her lips and looked at him thoughtfully. "I don't know, Castellano, you seemed pretty ticked off sometimes, and over things that were so intrinsically me." She tilted her head toward him. "Like when I brought my armoire into the office. We had a thirty minute argument about its practicality."

"Now that you mention it, my irritation with you may have had a less than innocent cause." He lifted her hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on the back of it. "I like curvy Indian girls, and it drives me crazy when they insist on dating other people, especially when they do it so often that it becomes necessary to bring half of their wardrobe to the office. You could fit Narnia in there." That was probably the closest he would get to telling her what he felt.

He searched her face for a reaction. How was it so quiet? Traffic noises floated up from the street, the distinct clamor of people coming home for the evening, before they got ready to head out again. He could hear his own heartbeat thumping away, his slightly rattling breath landed harshly on his ears. He cleared his throat. She smiled and he let out a breath.

"Narnia, Danny? You've seen that movie too? What a surprise you are." She reached the hand not holding his across her body and squeezed his upper arm. "You can totally be my new movie buddy."

He laughed. "No, not the movie. The book. Elena gave it to me when I was a kid, for Christmas or something." Her eyes were sparkling. She was messing with him. He sighed. "Yes, I've seen the movie too. I'm kind of surprised you've seen it. It's not exactly a rom/com."

She was so close to him. He could smell the faint leftover perfume she'd put on hours ago, combined with the flowery scent of whatever laundry soap she used. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you kidding me? James McAvoy plays Mr. Tumnus. Although, I couldn't really drool over him as a half-goat thing."

She yawned and reflexively arched against him. "God, I'm still tired, but I have to take a shower. I'm completely disgusting right now." She made no move to push away from him.

He released her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her in closer. "I don't know, Lahiri, you still smell like flowers, and your scrubs don't even have blood on them. I don't think you've quite made it to disgusting." He took her chin in his hand and lifted her face up to his. He started to kiss her gently, but before his lips could make contact with hers he felt her hand slide up his neck. Her fingers plucked tenderly at his ear, searching for a handhold.

The punch of desire that shot through erased all thoughts of gentle kisses and he hungrily captured her lips with his. She slipped her other arm up around his neck and pressed her chest up against his, almost climbing into his lap.

Danny grunted in displeasure when she leaned back and withdrew her hands, but when they flew to the edge of his scrub top and began impatiently tugging at it, he was quick to help her out. Tearing at each other's clothing like hormonal teenagers, Danny pulled her top up over her head, her hair crackling with static electricity when it came off.

She laughed at the hairs floating away from her and patted them down. "Oh, god I must look a hot mess."

He reached forward and plunged his hand into her locks. "The hottest mess I've ever seen." He pulled her to him again and kissed her soundly. His hands wandering from her hair down her back, stopping briefly at the hook of her bra, unfastening it.

For a moment, the normally bold and brash woman in front of him looked a bit unsure of herself. It took Danny by surprise. He lifted his hand to her face and brushed away an unruly lock of hair. "You are so beautiful." He had meant the words to simply be reassuring for her, but they'd come with a hushed sense of awe.

A slow smile spread across her face. She shrugged off the lingerie and tossed it to the floor, reaching out to him. His arms encircled her and pushed her down into the bed. He relished the feel of her skin against his, slowly reaching down to slip off her pants. He hooked a thumb underneath the elastic and drew them down, surprised by the smooth feel of bare skin. "Commando, Mindy, really?" He quickly yanked the garment and tossed it to the floor with her top.

She laughed. "I didn't have time. You saw how tight that dress was. I was obviously not wearing them before we got to the hospital."

Reminded once again of the date she had been on earlier, Danny growled a little and locked her in a kiss once again. She gasped against him and ran her hands down his back, slipping underneath the elastic of his scrubs. She pulled out of his kiss, leaving a trail of nips along his jaw line, stopping by his ear. "Looks like you didn't forget yours. Why don't you get rid of them now?"

Danny pulled back and divested himself completely. The teasing expression in her eyes faded away and left only the intent gaze of longing. She reached out for him. "Dan—". Cutting her off, he was swiftly on top of her once again, this time nudging apart her legs with his knee, trailing hot kisses down her neck.

His hands travelled across her body, momentarily stopping for a caress here and a squeeze there, jumping from place to place, as though he couldn't decide where he wanted them to be. He wanted to feel every bit of her, all at once. Finally resting at the place they'd wanted to be all along. Cupping her gently he laid a few gentle kisses on her breasts and began to suck gently.

She sighed and arched against the hand between her legs. He took it as an invitation and slipped inside of her, hot and slick against his hand. He lifted his lips from her skin and peered at her face. Her eyes were closed, and her expression slightly contorted with pleasure.

Feeling the absence of his lips, her eyes flew open. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She grasped his shoulders and pulled his face to hers. He could have kissed her, but instead pressed his forehead against hers, continuing to stroke. She let out little pants, hot breath surging out against his mouth.

Danny could feel it. He could see it. The quickening pulse at her throat, the increasing pace of her breathing, even the slight glow caused by her heart pumping blood out to her extremities. The inarticulate noises, ghosts of words, issuing from her mouth begged him. "P-please.."

Her plea disintegrated his last remaining degree of patience. He buried himself in her, crushing his lips against hers, devouring her gasps. Her hips rose to meet his and her legs wrapped around him, urging him forward. The feel of the soft skin of her inner thighs against his hips only intensified the pleasure Danny felt with every sigh and whimper he elicited. The gently rocking quickened, climbing to a frenzied pace.

She let a strangled cry as her hands dug into his shoulders. Her legs at his hips clenched around him as he plunged into her again and again. Then, just as he knew it would, the pleasure crashed into him like a wave, and he was drowning.

He stilled, resting atop her, putting most of his wait on his forearms arms. Their heavy breathing the only sound in the room. Their chests bumped with each deep inhalation. She raised her hands to his face, place one on each cheek, staring at him in wonderment. "Danny." She said his name as if she'd never said it before.

He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. When he withdrew, she was still looking at him strangely. The dimly lit room was getting darker with the onset of evening. She smiled broadly. "I KNEW you were obsessed with me." The words she'd said so many times before didn't quite carry the same acerbic tone they usually held.

He slipped one arm beneath her and rolled onto his back, carrying her with him. "Yeah? So what else is new?" He pulled her in closer and she rested her head on his chest.


	16. Chapter 16

CH 16

Mindy tossed her wallet in her purse as she slipped out the door. Her phone began to buzz before she could lock it. She answered it and tucked it between her ear and shoulder as she locked the door. "I'm on my way. Walking to the elevator as we speak."

"Mindy, we said seven. I have a show later." She picked up the pace as much as she could, teetering slightly on her five inch heels. She stopped in front of the elevator and impatiently tapped the call button. "You know I don't get up to New York very often."

The elevator doors finally opened and she quickly slipped inside. "Rishi, I get it, but I'm literally only running like ten minutes late. Just grab a table and I'll meet you there." She heard him let out an exaggerated sigh. "Besides, what kind of venue has a rap show on a Sunday night?"

"Look, I know I can't expect you to understand all nuances of how things go down with the rap scene these days, but it's not exactly what you would call a venue." Mindy frowned and punched the lobby button. "It's more like a ninja gig. Lil' Killa tweeted that his posse will be at a house party in Brooklyn. It'll be what you would call a great networking opportunity."

She frowned. "Brooklyn? That sounds awful." She made a little disgusted noise. "At least it's fall and they'll have a reason to wear knit caps and scarves."

Rishi laughed. "Ooh, Mindy, a hipster joke, how relevant. The place is in Bed-Stuy, relax."

The elevator finally came to a stop and Mindy stepped out into the lobby. "Bed-Stuy! You think that will make me relax? Are you crazy? You can't go to Bed-Stuy for a rap-battle-off-thing. You'll get shot or something!"

"Oh my god, sometimes I feel like you're my mother. Mindy, the only thing you know about the place is that Biggie lived there, and that's just because you watched _Notorious_. The place is crazy gentrified now, chill."

She stepped out to the street and hailed a cab, quickly hopping in and giving the cabbie directions to the restaurant they'd agreed to meet at. "Rishi, we'll talk about this at the restaurant. You are not going to Bed-Stuy late at night to hang out with some delinquent rappers and possibly die. I'll not have your tuition money wasted." She imagined she could hear him rolling his eyes. "And don't roll your eyes at me." She ended the call and crossed her arms in front of her.

She felt nauseated, her throat was going to close up. Damn Rishi, she'd thought they'd gotten past this. She was ok with this pursuit of a rap career when she thought he was putting his studies first. When she'd thought he wouldn't make stupid decisions. The thought of him going to Bed-Stuy late at night had her angrily tapping her foot on floor of the cab.

* * *

When Mindy got to the restaurant, Rishi was sitting in a booth, flirting with the waitress. His carefree posture grated on her nerves. She slipped into the seat across from him and smiled up at the young girl. She was obviously charmed by her ridiculous little brother. She grinned sweetly at Mindy. "Ma'am, your son already ordered for you. It'll be out in a minute."

Mindy's eyes widened as the waitress walked away and Rishi did everything he could not to laugh. "Oh, hell no!" Mindy called after the waitress. "I'm not even old enough to be his babysitter!" She turned back to Rishi. "Are you KIDDING me?!"

Rishi pulled his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of Mindy's shocked expression. The laughter he had been holding in spilled out in an obnoxious laugh. "Your face. That's priceless." He set the phone down. "I totally paid her to say that."

Mindy shrugged her jacket off and flipped her hair back over her shoulders. "Of course you did…. Your mother… As if anyone…. ugh."

She picked up the glass of wine the waitress had set in front of her and looked at her brother over the rim. "Don't think you can distract me with wine. We're still talking about this little gangster party you think you're going to."

Rishi sighed and leaned back in the booth. "It's a house party. There will be legitimate rappers there. It's an opportunity. Only people in the know have even heard about it."

"I've never heard of this legit rapper _Lil' Killa_." She took another gulp of her wine to stay the feeling of nausea closing in on her throat.

He gave her the look. The one he'd been able to use since he was a small child. His eyes became incredibly round and pleading. "Come on, sis. You know how serious I am about this. In this industry, knowing the right people can be the thing to push you over the top."

Before she could answer, the waitress from earlier was back at their table, this time toting plates full of food. The smell of chicken-alfredo and garlic bread wafted over to Mindy. Normally she'd love it, but her stress barfs were making this a nightmare. The waitress set a plate down in front of Mindy, and she gagged. She felt a hand on her shoulder and the waitress leaned close to her. "Pregnancy nausea?"

Mindy was speechless, her mouth hanging open. The girl patted her on the shoulder and walked away from the table. She turned toward Rishi. "Are you kidding me, Rishi, what the hell?"

Mindy angrily picked up her fork and started twirling the pasta around it. She shoved a forkful into her mouth and tore off a piece of bread, using it to gesture at her brother. "You have got to find a new pastime. Ribbing me is starting to get old."

He raised his hands up in an assertion of innocence. "I swear, I did not tell her to say that." He watched her devour her food. A curious expression formed on his face. "Wait… you're not… are you?" This time his eyes were wide.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I have to tell you that as a gynecologist, I'd be the last person to accidentally get pregnant. I'm not in a serious relationship, and I'm fully aware of how contraceptives work. So no, I am not pregnant." She was surprised at the slight hesitance before the word 'serious.'

He made a disgusted expression. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's that for? You were the one who brought it up. With my love life, I'd be stupid not to be on birth control." She grabbed her glass of wine and, as if to make a point, drained it.

Rishi was still a little stunned from the barrage of words flung at him. Apparently he'd hit a sore spot. "Sorry, jeez." He focused on the food in front of him, and they ate in silence for a couple minutes. Finally he screwed up the courage to broach the subject of the party again. "Look, I know you're worried about me, really, but I'm an adult and I need to do this."

The words, spoken so matter-of-factly, pierced Mindy's armor a little. "Rishi, I love you, ok. If you need to go to this party thing, fine." She twirled some more pasta on her fork and took a bite. "But I'm going too."

* * *

"You're what?!" Mindy pulled the phone away from her ear. Danny was shouting. He had called her after she'd gotten back from dinner with Rishi to see if she had any plans for the night. She'd barely had time to relish the fuzzy warmth it provoked before this conversation had begun.

When the words stopped she tentatively brought it back again. "I said I'm going out to Bed-Stuy for a house-party-thing to keep an eye on my brother. What's the big deal?"

"Mindy, you can't go traipsing around Brooklyn at this time of night by yourself." He was still yelling, the volume of his voice only slightly lower than before. "I mean, there are muggers and rapists and deviants of all sorts just lying in wait, ready for some gynecologist with her head in the clouds to go skipping by."

"Ok, the picture you paint is a little absurd, Castellano. I don't really think muggers contemplate the professions of their victims all that much. And, Rishi tells me the area isn't as bad as it used to be. There are some nicer areas." She was surprised at the level of concern in his voice, but it really shouldn't have surprised her. This wasn't the first time he'd told her she was doing something ludicrous. "Besides, I won't be alone. I'll be with Rishi."

"Rishi? Rishi? Really Mindy? Your baby brother, that you don't even trust to go to a house party alone, is going to protect you from crazy people on the streets of New York at this hour?" She could hear shuffling in the background, and a door slamming. "Do you even have a car? Or were you planning on walking out to Bed-Stuy?"

She was intently listening to the noises in the background of her phone call and barely registered his question. "Um, Rishi has a friend who's going to drive us out. Danny, where are you?"

She could hear the sounds of the city in her ear now. A blaring car horn caught her noise, and she heard Danny yell out an expletive. "I'll be over to your place in fifteen minutes. If you insist on going out at this time of night, on a Sunday I might add, you're going to have to tote me along with you."

Mindy felt an impossibly wide smile spread across her face. She took a breath and restrained the pleasure in her voice. "Well, if you insist."


	17. Chapter 17

CH 17

It took Danny a little longer than he'd anticipated to get to Mindy's apartment. He pressed down on the buzzer and waited impatiently for her response. Nothing. He gritted his teeth. The thought that she'd left without him grated on his nerves. He pressed down on the buzzer again. Nothing still.

He pulled out his phone and dialed her number. It rang and rang, eventually flipping over to voicemail. He ended the call without leaving her a message. He buzzed again. Nothing. The flutter of anxiety he felt surprised him. He was about to pull his phone out again when he heard a gentle throat clearing behind him.

He turned and came face to face with and older woman in a house coat holding a Chihuahua. She smiled at him sweetly. "Sweetie, maybe she's not home." She pushed past him and pulled her keys from a pocket of her coat.

Danny was a little embarrassed. "Not home?" Who was she talking to? Had he met this woman before?

She turned back and glanced at him. "That little Indian girl you're dating." Her eyes crinkled with another smile. "I see you around sometimes." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Danny felt the heat rush to his ears. Dating? Did he really hang around here that much? He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Mindy called him over here all the time for little things. Before Saturday they'd only been friends, but what kind of friends randomly came over and put furniture together? She pushed the door open and paused, holding it open. "Well?"

Danny finally took a hint and followed her into the lobby. He was staring like an idiot. He finally came back to himself. "Uh, yeah. Thanks." He followed behind her as she walked toward the elevator and rode it in uncomfortable silence to Mindy's floor.

He stepped out as soon as the door slid open, hoping to escape the awkward situation as quickly as possible, but she followed close behind. His puzzled expression elicited an explanation. "I live next door." She pointed down the hall with her free hand. "Tell Mindy I said hi." She ambled down the hall.

Danny turned and headed in the opposite direction. It soon became clear why Mindy had not heard the buzzer. The closer Danny got to her door, the more clearly he could hear the thump of a baseline and the muffled sounds of rapping. He sighed and knocked on the door. No response.

He made a fist and pounded a little harder. "Mindy! It's Danny. Hello?" He raised his hand to knock again but door swung open before he could make contact. The muffled music washed over him full blast. He slowly lowered his raised arm.

Mindy popped up in front of him, bobbing up and down to the beat singing along. "_So hold your tongue tightly, wish you could be like me. You're poppin' all that mess only to stress and to spite me. Now you can get with that or you can get with this. But I don't give a shit cause really it's none of your business!_" She stopped singing and did a dramatic twirl.

She moved aside to let him in, asking loudly over the music if he liked her outfit. He gave her a quick once over. "What the hell are you even wearing?"

She sashayed across the apartment and turned off the music. She pursed her lips and looked at him, contemplation furrowing her brow. "Well you see, Danny," She paused to gesture to herself. "This is a totally retro ensemble pulled from the vintage section of my closet." She pulled at the collar of her tee. "This is an original _Beastie Boys_ t-shirt purchased at a show in the early nineties."

He laughed. "You were like twelve in the early nineties."

She smiled. "I didn't say that I was the one who bought it." She kicked up one of her heels, pointing at it. "These are some crazy awesome high top sneakers in a beautiful shade of neon green." She reached up and popped the collar on the red leather jacket she was wearing. "And this beauty is the same jacket Rihanna wore in her video for _Take a Bow._"

Danny barely paid attention to the words pouring from her mouth. The only thing he could think about was the way her black skinny jeans hugged her hips. He looked back to her face and met her expectant expression. "You look like an extra in _Thriller._" He couldn't wipe the smile completely off his face, one corner remained upturned.

Mindy rolled her eyes. "And you look like my grandpa." She gave him a quick once over, pretending to not like what she saw. She stepped closer to him, fingering the material of his jacket. "Suede elbow patches, Danny? Really?" She slipped her hands beneath the garment. He felt his pulse quicken and his breaths shorten. "Hmm… At least you're wearing a nice tee underneath this."

Suddenly he was overwhelmed with how uncomfortably hot it was in her apartment. She slipped her hands over his shoulders, pushing the jacket away from them, a small sigh escaping her lips. The playful expression in her eyes darkened. She lifted herself up on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his lips. She pulled away slightly for a fleeting glance at his expression then returned to his mouth, leaving quick pecks at each corner before planting one full on the lips again.

He sighed into it, fleetingly noting the height difference when she was out of heels. She kind of tucked into him. He reached up and placed his hands on her shoulders, reluctantly pushing her away. "What are we doing, Min?"

She stepped back a little and looked up at him thoughtfully. "What do you mean?"

He was instantly uncomfortable. Introducing this subject had not been his intention. He crossed his arms, but thought better of it, quickly moving them to rest on his hips. "I mean… what are we doing?" Well that certainly cleared things up. He mentally kicked himself, clearing his throat and attempting an awkward back and forth gesture with his right hand. Feeling silly, he rested it back on his hip.

She frowned at him. "Danny, saying the same thing over again does nothing to clarify your question." She mirrored his stance, hands on hips, only her foot was tapping in annoyance.

He sighed. "I mean… Saturday was…" He searched for the words to describe the day they'd spent basically locked in her room, alternately sleeping and exploring each other. He felt his ears warm at the thought. "… a pleasure—"

"You bet your ass it was!" She interjected with a devious smile.

"—for _both_ of us." He continued. "But, are you interested in… continuing it? I mean... we've sort of been playing this twisted game of truth or dare, with the date and…. Are we still playing it?" The words did not come out in the offhanded manner intended, but rather in a rush of jumbled consonants.

A slow smile spread across her face, one eyebrow arched in amusement. "We might still be playing a game. Saturday wasn't exactly planned, but I definitely wouldn't mind a repeat." She had stepped back up to him and placed her hands back under the jacket. "Now why don't you take this relic off so we can go out to Bed-Stuy without you being mistaken for my father?"

He needed little urging to divest himself of the offending garment. He hung it on the hook by her door. The buzzer sounded. She hopped over to the intercom and hit the call button. "Hello."

"Yo, Mindy. We're here. You ready to go?" Rishi's voice sounded through the crackling speaker.

"Be down in a minute." Releasing the button, she walked towards Danny, snatching a tissue from the box sitting on the table beside her. "I don't think Drop Dead Red is your color." She leaned forward and wiped the tissue against his lips, pulling back when she was satisfied with her cleanup. "You ready to go meet and greet some up and coming rappers?"

He tucked his hands in his pockets and followed her out the door. They strode side by side down the hall to the elevator. "Staying out late on a Sunday night, hanging out with people half my age? If only the IRS would call me and tell me I'm being audited, then I could die a happy man." The sarcasm was diluted by the genuine smile spread across his face.

She smiled back at him, the door knocker earrings swinging with the tilt of her head. Easily slipping back into her Boston accent. "This is gonna be wicked awesome."


	18. Chapter 18

CH 18

Mindy and Danny made their way down to the sidewalk, craning their necks looking for Rishi. "Where is he?" The brisk fall air whipped around them, causing a shiver to creep up Mindy's spine. She glanced over at Danny as he tucked his hands into his front pockets. "Sorry about the jacket, Danny. I was just messing with you. We can go back up and get it if you want."

He shrugged without removing his hands. "It's not that bad. I tend to run hot." She'd noticed. On more than one occasion Danny's profuse sweating had earned a snarky comment from herself, but she'd always ascribed it to nervousness. Her gaze had wandered from his face to his biceps. An unexpected warmth spread through her limbs. Danny in a t-shirt.

She was staring. She bit her bottom lip and returned her gaze to his face. He was smiling down at her with a knowing look. "Remind me to always wear tees around you."

She reached over and gave his arm a playful squeeze. "Don't worry, I will." She laughed. The bright sound surprising her as it landed on her ears. She felt giddy. It was strange. They were acting like hormonal teenagers, but it didn't have so much to do with sex. She just liked being with him.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of Rishi's voice calling out across the street. "Over here, Mindy!" Rishi was standing by the curb with a very tall young man. They were next to a tiny two door car the color of old mustard.

Mindy and Danny made their way across the street. "Rishi, how are we supposed to fit in that shoe box?" She sidled up to the car and leaned forward, peering in through the window. She looked back to Rishi's friend, tipping her head back to get a better look. "This is your car? How do you even fit in that thing?"

Rishi interrupted her. "Mindy, this is Javier. Try not to be rude."

She made a face at her brother and turned back to Javier, extending her hand. "And I'm Mindy, Rishi's slightly older sister, a reluctant passenger in this tiny clown car on the way to a scary part of town." She gestured toward her brother. "Just tagging along to make sure he doesn't end up dead."

Javier took her hand firmly, giving her an overly friendly two-hand clasp. "Ah, I've heard so much about you. Please, call me Javi, everyone else does." He flashed his perfectly straight pearly whites at her, arching one eyebrow in her direction. Whoa, flirt much. She found it flattering, but viewed Javi as a kid. She smiled back at him, gently extracting her hand from his grasp.

A rough throat clearing interrupted her thoughts. She nodded toward Danny. "And this is Danny. Apparently he thinks I need a keeper while I'm being my brother's keeper."

Danny leaned forward and gripped Javi's hand in an unnecessarily firm handshake. "Danny Castellano." He had positioned himself slightly between Mindy and the young man.

Rishi cast his sister a questioning look as he shuffled around to the passenger side of the car. She returned one of wide eyed innocence. Now was not the time to get into this with her baby brother.

After exchanging introductions they piled into the car. Mindy and Danny were in the back, practically on top of one another. Squeezed into the low bucket seats, Mindy's knees were almost up against her chest. She shuffled around to get into a more ladylike position, sliding around on the slick vinyl of the seat. She ended up sitting at an angle facing Danny, his own arm threaded behind her to utilize the cramped space.

* * *

Danny felt warm, in spite of the chill out on the street. His arm lay across the seat behind Mindy's shoulders. He resisted the urge to drop it down and rest his hand on her arm. Since they'd slept together he'd been feeling this constant craving for contact. It wasn't exactly desire. It was more like he felt the need to reassure himself that she was there with him.

He had an inkling that he wasn't alone in this feeling. It seemed like she was always casually reaching out and touching him. And it _was_ casual. Nothing overtly sexual about it. Nothing stilted or contrived. Just a thread of contact pulling them together.

She'd always been that way though. Reaching out to him. He'd pull himself away, making a snarky comment and withdrawing into himself. It had been easier than addressing the weightless feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Danny drew his gaze away from her at the sound of Rishi's voice. "So, Mindy, I'm going to need you to hang back a bit when we get there. I don't need a babysitter, and it'll look weird with you hovering over me." Rishi looked over his shoulder at Mindy from the front seat, glancing curiously between them. "It would totally destroy any street cred I might have." He turned to face the front again.

She leaned forward to give Rishi a piece of her mind, placing her hand on Danny's knee for support. "Excuse me? I do not look like your babysitter. For all they know I'm a groupie. Not that I would ever be a groupie for anyone, but I totally look the part right now. Hot and young."

Rishi's friend, Javi, paused momentarily at a stop light and glanced back at her. "Rish, I'm gonna have to agree with your sister. She's quite a little piece tonight." He gave her a suggestive look, one eyebrow raised, before turning his attention back to the road and accelerating again.

When Danny and Mindy had met Rishi and Javier on the street, Rishi's friend had given her an appreciative once over before leading the way to the clown sized car. Danny had felt his nostrils flare as a wave of discomfort pass through him. He had drawn closer to her, placing his hand on the small of her back as she climbed into the vehicle.

Now, he felt his jaw tense. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Mindy piped up. "Ok. Slightly misogynistic there. I'm not a 'piece' of anything. I'm successful woman, but the sentiment is appreciated. Rishi's been messing with me today, and it's really annoying." She leaned farther forward, sliding her hand off Danny's knee and placing it on the back of the front seat. "He actually paid a waitress to refer to me as his mother today."

Danny felt the corner of his mouth twitch, but suppressed the amusement bubbling up inside of him. Rishi, however, was not as successful. He burst into laughter. "Hey, you insist on acting like my mother... Oh, man. The look on her face." He pulled his phone out and passed it to Danny.

Mindy frowned and tried to intercept it. Danny snatched it from Rishi before she could grab it, holding her at bay while he looked at the screen. He did laugh this time. She reached across him, almost climbing into his lap to get to his outstretched hand. "Give me that so I can delete it!"

Rishi reached over the seat to retrieve his phone. "It wouldn't matter anyway. I tweeted that right after I took it." He turned back to Danny, gesturing to Mindy with his free hand. "And that's nothing. You should have seen her face when the waitress asked if she was pregnant. I would have taken a picture of that too if I didn't think she would've murdered me." He grinned broadly turned his attention back to his phone.

Mindy slowly eased back from Danny's lap and settled back into the seat. Danny's mirth evaporated when he saw how withdrawn she'd suddenly become. She had crossed her arms and was staring out the window. He glanced back and forth between brother and sister, settling on Rishi. "Well, I mean, that's odd. You paid the waitress say that too, why?"

Without looking up from his phone, Rishi replied, "Nah, she was stress gagging over me going to this thing tonight." He glanced at Mindy. "Drama queen. The waitress thought it was pregnancy nausea."

Mindy's head snapped back toward Rishi at the 'drama queen' comment. "Stress gagging is a physiological response to undue anxiety, and it happens to run in our family. I've seen you do it often enough." She blew out a puff of air, shifting a lock of hair.

Danny had been looking at her since Rishi had answered his question. An odd expression settled across his features. He knew why she'd been upset by the waitress's comments, and he felt guilty. He'd been the one in the past to make her question whether or not she would ever have kids. He'd pointed out the ticking of her biological clock. It had been a defense mechanism, but he'd still done it, and he felt like an ass.

Rishi's attention had shifted to Javi. They were discussing flow and rhythm in relation to subject matter as if it were precision surgery.

Danny reached across and placed his hand at her elbow, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Relax, Lahiri, he's just pushing your buttons." He gave her a lopsided smile when she turned to him.

She uncrossed her arms and grudgingly returned the smile. "No surprise that you recognize when someone's pushing my buttons." She narrowed her eyes. "Since you're usually the one doing it."

He gave her arm another squeeze and lowered his voice slightly. "I don't know, you seem to like it when I push your buttons." Her eyes widened, and a pleasure elicited by her reaction coursed through his limbs.

They stared at each other, in a weird suspended state. A dramatic throat clearing broke the quiet moment. They both turned to the front to see Rishi's reflection in the rearview mirror looking back at them. "We're here."

The car had rolled to a stop, Javi had gotten out and Rishi was looking back at them awkwardly. "Are you two–"

Danny cut him off. "So, yeah. We'll hang back while you schmooze with the rap moguls and whatnot. I'll do my best to keep Mindy from embarrassing you." Danny pushed the driver's seat out of the way and climbed out of the little car.

Mindy followed close behind. "And I'll keep Danny from scaring all the young people away with obscure references to old movies no one watches."

Danny shoved her gently. "Hey, _The Godfather_ is not an old movie no one watches." They walked side by side behind Rishi, a subdued smile tugging at the corner of Danny's mouth.

Rishi eyed them suspiciously. "Sure." He slowly turned and followed after Javi, a thoughtful expression spreading across his face.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: This one's a little longer than usual. I tend to worry that I'm losing the tone that I'd set previously in the story. I'd appreciate it if you told me what you think, or maybe even gave a few suggestions. Feedback is always helpful.**

CH 19

Mindy stepped through the door into the crowded apartment. Rishi had been overly generous when describing it as a house party. The place was a studio apartment, admittedly nicer than she'd expected, but not a house. Dimly lit, there was a cloud of smoke hanging over everyone's head. She wrinkled her nose. The sweet yet pungent aroma of something nefarious assaulted her. "Danny, you're definitely the oldest person here." She raised her voice slightly so she would be heard over the music being played at a moderate volume.

She felt his hand on her lower back, easing her further into the room. The entire time they'd walked along the street to their destination he'd stayed close at her back, his hand occasionally resting in that same place. He leaned into her ear. "You come in a close second place."

He smiled when she whipped her head around to give him a sour look. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." She cast searching glances about the room. "Where did he go?" Rishi and Javi had outpaced them, disappearing into the building before Mindy and Danny had even reached it. "I mean really, it doesn't even look like there are other rooms in this place. Where is he?"

The slight note of anxiety tinging her inflection softened Danny. He did a quick scan of the place. There were no overhead lights, but rather randomly placed wall sconces casting a low wattage bluish glow over everything. There were a lot of people milling around and draped over the white couches in the middle of the apartment. Everyone had drinks in their hands, and there were more than a few glowing orange cherries floating in the dimness.

"Over there, in that group of guys standing by the island, in what I guess you could call the kitchen." He placed his hand on her shoulder and angled her in the direction he was pointing. The little group formed an attentive half circle around one person. "That must be that guy, little-whatever-his-name-is."

She could see her brother's mouth moving. Rishi's head bobbed evenly to some beat she couldn't hear. Lil' Killa closed his eyes and moved his own head along with Rishi's. Slipping from Danny's grasp, she nodded and took a couple purposeful steps forward. He quickly followed, laying a hand on her arm. Stayed by the movement, she looked up at him curiously. "What?"

He hesitated, pursing his lips slightly. He began slowly. "Well, you kind of promised to hang back while we're here." She opened her mouth to dispute the fact, but he cut her off. "And he's in clear view, it's not like they're going to drag him off and murder him for saying west coast rap is better than east coast rap or something." He squeezed her arm where his hand was still resting. "You need to let him feel this out."

She sighed, turning back to look at her brother. "I was kind of hoping I could sabotage this night and change his mind about the whole rap thing." There was guilt in her words. "This is all so…. Well, I don't even have words for it. He has so many opportunities, and this is what he chooses. Rap? We grew up in Concord, Massachusetts. What does he have to rap about?" She stepped back from Danny, throwing her arms out in the Mindy version of a rap-stance. "Yo! The winter is wicked cold! My mom bought me a sweater I didn't like, word!"

Her attempt to be lighthearted for a moment fell flat. She dropped her arms and her shoulders drooped. "I'm not uptight, I like rap. I can even ignore the fact that there is some obvious drug use going on here," She waved her hand in front of her face, cutting through the haze. "But I can't help wanting something more certain for him." The words flew from her mouth, picking up speed as she went along. "What if he gets some sort of encouragement tonight and wants to drop out of school again? I mean, look at that guy." She gestured to Lil' Killa. "Oh God, he looks like he likes it."

She felt her throat closing up again and swallowed hard. "This isn't how it's supposed to be." She bent over at the waist, placing her hands on her knees, taking a few deep breaths. She tipped her head up and looked at Danny. "This is what he does to me. He wouldn't be here in New York if it weren't for me living here. I feel _responsible_ for him." She dropped her head back down and gagged. "I can't even take care of myself sometimes. The only food I have in my apartment is wine and Cheetos."

A few of the girls on sitting on one of the sofas began to peer at Mindy in concern. Danny stepped closer to her and laid his hand on her back, moving it in gentle circles. He leaned down close to her ear. "Mindy, people are starting to stare. You wanna step outside for air or something?"

She pulled herself upright again and straightened her jacket. She raised a hand to get the girls' attention, speaking more loudly than necessary. "Nothing to see here. Just a drunk twenty two year old girl trying to get this older gentleman to take her home." She looked at Danny then back to the girls. They shot her slightly disinterested yet incredulous looks. "He could be just the sugar daddy I was looking for. He looks like the kind of guy who might even own a blazer with elbow patches."

He frowned, and called out to the girls. "This sober woman is the same age as me and elbow patches are practical." The group had completely lost interest and had returned to sipping their drinks and bobbing their heads along to the beat of the music.

She leaned into him and threaded her arm though his and whispered in his ear. "Yeah, I need to get out of here."

* * *

Danny led her down the stairs and back out onto the stoop, shivering slightly in the cold night air. There were a couple people standing on the steps below smoking cigarettes in silence. He urged her down to sit on the top step, taking a place beside her. She leaned forward and put her head between her knees, groaning. "How will I explain this to our parents?"

Danny reached up and placed his hand on the back of her neck, giving her a gentle squeeze. "I don't think my mom will care all that much. She doesn't even know Rishi." His lame joke elicited a little laugh, but she left her head tucked between her knees. He sighed. "Explain what, Min? Nothing's happened yet. I've heard Rishi's rap. He's a talented kid, but there's not a lot of passion behind it, not yet anyway. He's had no real heartache, no real pain. He hasn't lived yet."

She slowly sat upright. Turning her face to his. The street lamp cast a golden light over them, reminding her of the night they went out. Danny looked good in the light of streetlamps, the glow casting his features in sharp contrast. She smiled, not as confidently as usual, but still, it felt nice. "I guess I never really thought about it." She reached up, caught his hand still resting on her neck and pulled it down around her shoulder, leaning into him. "I don't like the idea of him going through things that hurt. He's had it pretty easy."

"I guarantee you, they'll say a few things to each other, Rishi will be encouraged, but it's not like anything will come of it immediately. Do you have any idea how many people approached that guy tonight?" He tucked himself in behind her a bit, enjoying the warmth of their bodies in contrast to the chill of the breeze blowing around them. "You're just overly protective. It's nice actually. I've never seen you care so much about another person."

She laughed. "Wow, Danny, way to a girl's heart. Just call her selfish. That'll work." The usual sting in her words was absent. She made no move to pull herself from his embrace. She let out a long breath. "You're right though. No one else makes me gag from the sheer stress of caring about them." She angled her head so she could see him. "I do feel better now. How is it that you can be so reassuring? The things you usually say only make me doubt myself."

Danny shifted uncomfortably against the cold concrete. For a moment he couldn't find the ability to speak. A wave of guilt washed over him. He looked down at her, the question still written in her eyes. "I never want to make you doubt yourself. You're just so impulsive sometimes. It can be terrifying."

Confusion spread across her features. "Terrifying for whom?" She scooted forward a couple inches so turned to face him head on. He felt his heart pick up its pace when a shrewd smile spread across her face. She reached forward and traced her index finger along the line of his v-neck, brushing by his rapidly thumping pulse. "For you?"

He cleared his throat, hoping to dislodge the tight feeling afflicting it. "Some of those impulses have been advantageous for me, but the majority of them end with you sitting in your pajamas sobbing while eating candy and drowning in red wine." He reached up and stilled the hand at his neck. "And you're an ugly crier." He smiled broadly.

"Rude!" She drew back, ready to shove him back against the wall, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in close, laying a quick kiss on her lips. She softened against him, laughing into the kiss. Her hand slipped from between them, sliding her fingers up his nape into his hair. The other hand rested on his upper thigh.

The door behind them opened unexpectedly. They jumped apart like two teens caught necking underneath the bleachers. Rishi looked down at them, one eyebrow raised. He leaned on the door frame. "So, I'm ready to go. Javi's headed home with some girl. Lil Killa's about to take off." He jingled the keys in his hand. There was an element of disappointment in his voice.

Danny stood up, reaching down to pull Mindy out of her sitting position. "What's the matter? Lil Whatever not into what you had?" Danny looked at Rishi over Mindy's shoulder. "I've heard that guy's stuff. He throws around a lot of 'hos' and 'mo moneys' but it's all pretty generic stuff. Plus, it's unlikely that someone like him has any say at his label."

Mindy snapped around and shot him a surprised look. "You listen to rap? You know how rap labels work?"

He plastered a pseudo-offended look on his face. "I listen to lots of stuff, ok, and all I'm saying is that guy has no staying power. He's not exactly a wordsmith."

Rishi shrugged. "Yeah, it is kind of hard to argue in defense of someone who regularly calls all the women around him hood-rats." He started down the steps toward the street.

Mindy wrinkled her nose and followed after him. "He does that? Disgusting little twerp." She almost tripped in her haste to get down the steps after Rishi. Close behind her, Danny caught around the waist and steadied her, preventing a nasty stumble. She looked back at him. "Did you see his face? He's so disappointed."

Danny stepped down to the step beside her, hand at her back urging her to continue forward. "Isn't that what you wanted?" The question came out with some reticence. He didn't exactly want to poke at her, but he thought that getting her to articulate what she really wanted for her brother would help her.

They continued down the sidewalk, headed toward the little yellow car. Mindy slowed a bit and looked up at Danny. "Yes, no, I mean… I guess I just want him to be happy." The words were pronounced reluctantly. She stared ahead in contemplation. "This won't be easy for him, and he may never find any success." Her shoulders sagged.

Danny walked along beside her in silence. He stepped closer and captured her swinging hand in his. "Mindy, he's so young. He'll figure it all out." He squeezed her hand and smiled down at her. "He's a smart kid."

The words were what anyone would have said. Normally someone just telling her everything would be okay only made her feel more annoyed, but coming from Danny it was different. He rarely said things he didn't mean. She felt the anxiety lift from her chest.

When they arrived at the car Rishi was already sitting in the driver's seat. Mindy opened the passenger door and slid into the seat beside him, leaving Danny to sit in the back alone.

She reached up and grabbed her seatbelt, fastening it as she spoke to her brother. "You spending the night at my place?" She reached across and laid a hand on his shoulder.

He turned the key in the ignition and the little car came to life. "Yeah, Javi and I are driving down to Concord tomorrow." He pulled the car out onto the street, driving in between the cars lining it.

Mindy bit her lip in nervousness. "You have any news for our parents?" Her voice waivered a bit. "Anything you maybe want to tell me first?" She waited for an answer, holding her breath.

He briefly looked away from the road to shoot her a glance, looking back a Danny for a second before looking back ahead. "Not at this moment. Why? Anything you want to tell me, Mindy?"

She glanced back at Danny. He had an expectant expression on his face, as though he were waiting to hear what she had to say. He stirred uncomfortably when she looked back at him. He leaned back against the seat and shifted his gaze to the window.

She returned her attention to Rishi. "Me? Not at the moment, no." Fed up with the silliness of the conversation, she blew out a breath. "Look, I just want to know what you have decided. In regards to school and stuff."

He sighed and flexed his grip on the steering wheel. "Nothing's changed. I'm still in school. I'll continue to go. Tonight was a bust."

Mindy smiled broadly and unbuckled her seatbelt, scooting across the seat she gave her brother an awkward hug. "Good. I mean, good you decided to continue school, not good that Lil Killa was a tool. I mean, I can't deny I'm kind of glad about that too, but still it's the twenty first century and there's no place for such misogynistic attitudes, you can do better…" She was rambling.

She laid her head on her brother's shoulder and patted his arm. She didn't want to leave him hanging so she tilted her head a bit and whispered to him. "For the record, I may have something to tell you soon, I just don't know yet."

He let out a quiet laugh and whispered back, "Good, I actually like this one."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: This one is a little light on the Dandy, but I really wanted to delve into Rishi and Mindy's relationship a little before moving on. As always, please leave comments, positive or negative. I love hearing what other people think.**

CH 20

Mindy tucked herself into bed, pulling the coverlet up to her chin. She was wide awake. She stared at the ceiling fan making lazy circles over her head. It squeaked slightly on each turn. Normally she didn't even notice it, but right now she felt herself counting the rotations in time with the sound.

She blew out a frustrated breath and sat up. She grabbed her glasses from the end table and settled them on her face. "Rishi!" She yelled in the direction of her door, hoping he was still awake. She slipped out of the bed and padded over to her bedroom door, jutting her head out into the apartment. "Rishi?"

She saw his head poking up slightly over the back of her couch, a pair of gigantic headphones bobbing in time with some unheard beat. She said his name again, this time very loudly. He snapped his head around, pulling the headphones down. "Mindy?"

She walked over to him and placed her hands on the back of the couch, leaning over to see what he was doing. He had his computer on his lap and a digital mix-board filled the screen. "Working on stuff?"

He nodded. "Just some backbeats." He closed the program and set the computer on the table. "You need something?" He had turned completely to face her.

She sighed and dropped her hands to her side. "I can't sleep. I think maybe I got a second hand high at that party. I feel so wired." She moved over to sit on the back of the couch.

Rishi laughed. "You can't get second hand high from just being in a room with somebody. You weren't even in there for ten minutes before you snuck outside with your boyfriend."

Mindy reached down and picked up the throw pillow, swatting her brother with it. "I didn't… he's not.. well, he's… I don't know…" She trailed off, dropping the pillow back down. What was she doing with Danny? She looked down and plucked at the buttons running down the front of her pj's, making a face. "You want to do that thing we used to do when you were a kid?" She needed to distract him from his current line of questioning.

He frowned. "Come on, do we have to?"

She stuck her bottom lip out and opened her eyes wide, nodding. "Come, on baby brother, you know you love it."

He sighed, levering himself up from the couch. "Fine. I'll be in there in a minute." Underneath the exasperated tone he was secretly pleased.

Mindy hopped up and down a bit, skipping over to her dvd collection and plucking one from the shelf, quickly dashing back into her room. Rishi gathered up the pillows and blanket from the couch and followed her.

He plopped down beside her on the bed, spreading his blanket out over him and tucking his pillow behind him. "Same one as always?"

She pointed the remote at the tv sitting on her dresser, hitting the play button as she spoke. "Of course."

* * *

Mindy was sitting on her bed painting her fingernails listening to music on the little pink boom box sitting on her night stand. The music was some kicky pop flowing out at a low volume. She mouthed the words and bobbed her head. She was wearing her favorite flannel pajamas. The ones that were way too big, but oh so comfy.

She glanced up at the sound of the door hinge squeaking. Rishi was standing there, his head barely higher than the doorknob. His bare feet poked out from under his pajamas. She was struck once again how small he was for his age. She reached over and turned off the music. "I didn't wake you up did I?"

He slipped further into her room and shut the door behind him, shaking his head and tugging at the bottom of his shirt. "I can't sleep."

She set the nail polish down and waved her hands in front of her. "Come here." She pointed to the bed beside her.

He smiled and sprinted over to the bed pouncing on it. He crossed his legs, imitating his sister. She looked down at him, his thin little shoulders poking against the white cotton of his night shirt. "Can we watch a movie?"

She gave him a knowing look. "Can't sleep, eh? This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" She really should make him go back to his room.

He looked up at her doing his best doe-eyes, his little mouth slightly turned down. "Mom and Dad only let me watch educational ones. You have all the good ones, with bad words in them too." He was getting really good at this. Just a slight wheedling tone combined with that puppy look. She supposed he learned from the best. It was the exact look she gave her parents when begging for tickets to the Jewel concert.

She gave in. "Alright alright." As soon as the words left her mouth he had jumped back down off the bed and scurried underneath it, pulling out a large shoe box. She kept her movie collection hidden as though they were dirty, which to her parents, they were. They thought they were trash that distracted her from her education. Whatever.

He slipped one out and hurried over to her TV, popping the tape in the VCR and hitting play. "Which one?" She asked even though she knew the answer. He jumped back into the bed, this time snuggling under the big fluffy blankets. She got up and flipped the light switch off, leaving only one lamp and the blue glow of the tv to light the room.

He glanced up at her with a grin. "The one with the boy who wishes he was big and then wakes up and he's big, and there's that one part where they play the giant piano with their feet, but later he doesn't like being big." The words came out in an excited rush.

She scooted in beside him. "You know, Rish, it's not that hard to remember the name of this movie. You said it like three times while describing it to me." She put one arm around him, letting him use her as a head rest.

He nestled into her, yawning loudly. "Big. Big. Big."

She looked down at him. He wouldn't make it through the whole movie, he almost never did. She tilted back and settled in to enjoy watching Tom Hanks act like a ten year old boy.

An hour later she peeked down at him and he was snoring lightly. She flipped the covers back and scooped him up. He was heavier than he looked. She huffed a little on the way to the door. He stirred and looked up at her. "Mindy?"

She stopped and looked down at him. "Good, you're awake. I don't think I can get the door open without putting you down." She bent over and sat him down.

He rubbed the sleep in his eyes. "Do you have to leave?"

Confusion swept across her features and she knelt down to look him in the eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere. I'm just putting you to bed."

She patted him on the shoulder and started to stand. He looked down at the floor. "I mean to college. Mom and dad say you're going to college, to be a doctor, and that you'll only come home on Christmas." He frowned, his lip quivering just a little. He bit it and looked back up at her. "Who's going to take me to soccer practice?"

A vice squeezed around her heart. She was already going to be homesick when she left, but this was too much. The little boy standing in front of her meant more to her than any other person in her life. She remembered when she found out her mom was pregnant. She'd had a meltdown of epic proportions. She just knew a sibling would ruin her life.

She'd held him when her mom had brought him home, and she'd been astonished at how little he was, and how delicate. She'd cradled him nervously, afraid he would break, but she'd instantly been in love.

Now he was standing in front of her, on the verge of tears, and she was just staring at him in silence. He continued on. "You always take me after school, and I don't like it when mom comes because she makes me wear the big shin guards, the other kids make fun of me, 'cause I'm so much smaller, but they don't do that when you're there, 'cause you told Eddie Tudeski you'd stick his head in a toilet if he called me a shrimp again." The words poured out quickly, taking no pauses for breaths. When he reached the end he took a big gulp of air.

Mindy stayed on her knees and drew him in for a hug. She completely enveloped him. "I love you, Rish. It doesn't matter where I am, you can call me any time, and I'll visit more often than just Christmas. You tell Eddie and his stupid friends that I have connections with the mob."

They both had tears streaming down their cheeks. Mindy pulled back and wiped Rishi's face with the sleeve of her pajamas, and then tended to her own. She stood up and opened her door. "Come on, you have to go to bed or you'll never be able to wake up in the morning."

He followed her down the hall. "I wish I would wake up big tomorrow, then I could go with you."

She reached down and squeezed his shoulder. "When you really are big, you can come visit me in the city, and we'll stay up and watch movies just like we do now, ok?"

* * *

The credits rolled across the screen as Mindy's eyes drifted closed. She didn't even bother to turn off the light. She stretched her arms as she yawned one last time, accidentally whacking Rishi in the face.

"Hey." He pushed her hand down. He had fallen asleep halfway through the movie. He pushed himself back up against the headboard, poking Mindy until she gave up trying to sleep.

She grunted and opened her eyes. "What?"

He rubbed his face with one hand, trying to wake himself up. "You know he loves you, right?"

She feigned confusion. "Tom Hanks?"

Rishi snorted. "I don't even think he knows it yet, but it's there. Come on, Mindy. Why did you stay here tonight?" He watched her slowly turn her face into her pillow.

"What are you talking about? Where else would I have gone?" She mumbled into the fabric, hoping he would just drop it. Rishi's words had caused a warmth to blossom in her chest. It spread to her face and ears. She felt them burning. She chanced a quick glance and was disappointed to see the same look of curiosity on his face.

"I would have been fine here on my own. You could have went home with him. We're all adults." He scooted back down under the covers, tucking the pillow behind his head. "And don't pretend you haven't, you know, reached that level where you can spend the night at each other's places. I could tell it was different between you."

She sat up, interested now. "Different, how?"

"Well, I've only seen you two together a handful of times." He closed his eyes and continued talking. "Those other times were different."

Mindy was wide awake now. Rishi had noticed something, before? He yawned. "But, back then he would only look at you that way when he thought you wouldn't notice. He'd just stare at you, snapping back to himself only when you looked in his direction." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, clearly on the precipice of sleep.

She waited a few seconds for him to continue. When he didn't she shoved him gently. "Don't leave me hanging. How is it different?"

Rishi shrugged without opening his eyes. "I don't know. He doesn't snap back anymore, at least not all the way."

Rishi flipped over onto his side and began snoozing in earnest. Mindy turned to her back, shoving Rishi's leg out of the way with her foot. She stared up at the ceiling fan. Still working away, squeaking steadily. She began to count again. It was like counting sheep. The constant rhythm lulling her. One. Two. Three.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: It's been a little while since I've updated. This is just a short one, kind of a bridge chapter. I've been so busy the past two weeks trying to get moved into the new house. I haven't had time to sit down and write (and boy I need it, it's how I unwind at the end of the day). As always, I appreciate comments and reviews, positive and negative. I like hearing what everyone has to say. I really want to know what you all like so I can incorporate it into the story. Thanks.**

CH 21

Danny grabbed the pole in the middle of the car, anticipating the gentle rocking that came with the swaying of the train. His eyelids drooped as a yawn escaped. Going out on a Sunday night had been ridiculous. In spite of his fatigue, the corners of his mouth twitched up in a smile.

Salt N Pepa poured into his ears through the buds nestled in them. The smile broadened as the image of Mindy in green high-tops and a red leather jacket popped into his mind. A quiet laugh escaped him, provoking a halfhearted glare from the woman standing next to him. He ignored it.

He liked what was happening with Mindy. He'd felt the tendrils of affection creeping their way around his heart for a long time now, but for the first time it didn't make him feel panicky. It was a warmth that spread through him when he least expected it.

He found himself looking for her on the subway this morning, hoping to see her neon colored wardrobe and matching personality. More and more people streamed into the car, but she never appeared. Late as usual.

He turned his attention back to the ridiculous music assaulting his ears. Even though it was not the type he liked, he found himself enjoying it. It reminded him strongly of Mindy. Upbeat and unrepentantly confident bordering on feisty. His eyes drifted shut for a moment, picturing her striking her hip-hop stance in the doorway last night, confidently singing along to the music.

That's where he was, lost in thought, when he felt a smallish fist land on his shoulder. A scowl settled down over his features as he turned to face to offender, one handing reaching up to pull the earbuds down. The harsh words on the tip of his tongue fell away. He froze, a zing of pleasure mixed with embarrassment coursed through him.

Mindy looked up at him. "Wow, Danny, what is it you always tell me about dulling my senses with music while 'out and about on the streets of New York'? You always say I'm going to get attacked because I can't hear anything." She moved to stand beside him. "What are you listening to anyway? I didn't even know you had an iPod."

Danny quickly pulled the earbuds out and shoved the tangled mess into his jacket pocket. He felt like a teenager who'd been caught looking at dirty magazines, daydreaming about her on the subway. A flush crept up the back of his neck, making his ears feel suddenly warm. He reached up with his free hand and settled it on the back of his neck. "Um, you know, just some podcast about, uh, how to brew your own beer." He cringed. Lying was not his strong suit, and he didn't even know why he felt the need to lie to her about this. He didn't want to show his hand too soon.

He glanced over at her, hoping fruitlessly that she would believe him. Her eyes narrowed and she peered closely at him. "A podcast? I'm fairly certain you don't even know what a podcast is. When Jeremy was talking about it the other day you asked him if it was a type of fishing equipment." She leaned in close and quickly slipped her hand into the pocket his hand was still in, brushing his skin with her fingertips before she snatched the iPod.

The shiver of pleasure at her touch dulled his reflexes, and she had the iPod out in the open before he could react. She smiled as she looked at the screen. "Salt N' Pepa? You don't like Salt N' Pepa. I'm pretty sure you even told me that _Shoop _was one of the worst songs you'd ever heard."

He shrugged. "Well, you were listening to it at a ridiculously high volume at seven in the morning while I was trying to get paperwork done. And I don't even know why you were at the office that early listening to nineties rap…" He trailed off, smiling over at her despite being fairly certain she was on to him. "They've grown on me, ok?"

She cast a slightly dubious smile in his direction, but decided to drop it. She popped one earbud in and hit play, reaching across to put the other one in his ear. She tucked the player back into his jacket pocket and wordlessly captured his hand in hers, tucking herself into his side for support in the swaying car.

* * *

Rishi's words played on a loop in Mindy's head. _You know he loves you right._ Each time she thought about it, a sense of weightlessness pervaded her, and she found herself looking across at him, trying to find proof.

They walked along in companionable silence, nearing the office. Early morning sunlight fell on them, leaving a pleasant warmth on their skin in direct contrast to the occasional gust of brisk fall air. "Don't you just love New York in the fall?"

Danny squeezed her hand. "I'm pretty sure you love New York in every season, but you like to say you love it most in the fall, because that's the kind of thing they'd say in one of those Zac Efron movies you love so much.

He smiled at her, and that damn thought ran through her head again. When did he start smiling at her like that? For a long time she only every elicited grumpy scowls and the occasional reluctant half-smile. These full blown grins knocked her back on her heels. She quickly turned her gaze frontward. "Those are Nora Ephron movies, although Zac Efron is quite the little hottie. Oh my god, if Zac Efron were in a Nora Ephron movie, that would be the most perfect thing. Can you imagine him playing opposite some young beautiful Indian girl? Piercing blue eyes gazing into soulful brown ones. Perfection." She was rambling to cover up the sudden tightness she felt in her chest.

He squeezed her hand. "Min, please." The exasperation tinging his voice was undermined by the soft expression in his eyes. "Can you not gush over other men in my presence? My _fragile _ego can hardly take it."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, Danny, like most doctors, your body can barely contain your massive ego." They had arrived at their office building. She started to pull away from him, heading toward the steps.

He clasped her hand and pulled her back to him. Drawing her in for a quick embrace, settling his lips against hers in a quick kiss. He released her and she stepped back slowly. This wasn't something she'd expected. She was fairly certain that Danny was averse to public displays of affection.

He had already turned away from her, mounting the steps while she stared after him in contemplation. He glanced back at her, looking down at his watch. "Min, it's 8:58, we're going to be late."

She snapped out of her idle thoughts and rushed up the steps to meet him. "Oh my god, you really need to relax with the punctuality, Dr. Castellano."

They walked through the lobby to the elevator. "Whether or not you're on time says something about you. You could work on it, Dr. Lahiri."

She snorted. "Oh, please. You know who cared a lot about being on time? Hitler. The trains were never late in Nazi Germany. I hardly think five minutes here and there matters in the grand scheme of things."

Danny frowned in confusion. "I think you're thinking of Mussolini and the trains in Italy." How did this conversation begin? He reached forward and punched the floor button.

She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Maybe your right, God Danny, I can't remember every little thing about history. I mean, I like Ken Burns, but I can only take so much before I have to switch over to Real Housewives."

He laughed. "You were the one who brought it up. Besides, it was propaganda anyway, and the reason the myth spread is because being on time is a good thing. So you can say it."

She cast a perplexed glance in his direction. "Say what?"

The doors whooshed open and Danny stepped out into the office, glancing down at his watch. "The magic words: _You're right, Danny._ Nine O'clock on the dot. Doesn't it just feel good to be on time?"

Danny strode over to his office, stopping in the doorway to glance back at her where she stood in her own doorway. "I think your watch is slow, Danny. It's 9:05." She pointed to the clock on the wall. "Feels exactly the same doesn't it?" She smiled smugly, turning on her heel almost skipping into her office.


	22. Chapter 22

CH 22

Mindy stood in the doorway to her office, her hand laid reassuringly on the arm of her last patient for the day, Mrs. Camponelli. "Kelly, I know this is your first pregnancy, and you're really anxious, but you have to understand that it's far too early to feel any movement. You're only ten weeks along." She smiled reassuringly.

Kelly was one of Mindy's youngest patients. Married and expecting her first child at twenty-two, Mindy always felt a little surge of jealousy when dealing with the willowy blonde. She was everything Mindy wasn't, but she was professional enough to lay that feeling aside to ease the young woman's fears. "Rest easy. Everything is going swimmingly."

Kelly rested her hand over her still flat stomach. "It's just, I read all these things on the internet. Did you know that ten to twenty percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and eighty percent of those occur before twelve weeks?" Her eyes were wide.

Mindy gave her a little squeeze in comfort, pointing her free hand to the name plaque beside the door. "OBGYN, Kelly, that's what it says beside my name. I know all the statistics, and I still say don't worry. I have a good feeling, and I'm sure you do too."

Mindy felt the apprehension drain out of the young woman. She smiled down at Mindy and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Dr. Lahiri. I know I obsess over things, and I spend way too much time on WebMD." She gave her a hug and made her way out of the office.

Mindy stood in her doorway for a few seconds, smugly congratulating herself on her amazing rapport with patients. She was pulled out of her meditations by Danny's voice coming from the secretaries' desks. "You know there is no way to tell if it's going well or not at this point." He was leaning forward on the desk, flipping through a file. "It's usually chromosomal abnormalities when miscarriage happens that early."

Normally this sort of conversation set Mindy's back up pretty quickly, but she decided to take a different approach. "Of course I know that, but what good is it to tell her something like that? There's nothing she can do one way or the other, why not let her be happy right now? Worrying about things that probably won't happen can't be good. Living in the moment has certain advantages."

She turned around and reentered her office without waiting for his reply.

She sat down at her desk, shutting Kelly Camponelli's file. Her own words circled in and out of her brain. Living in the moment. She smiled to herself. Sometimes she gave herself the best advice. She set the file aside and called out into the office. "Oh Danny, could you come here. I need a consultation on a patient."

To her surprise, Danny was in her doorway before she finished her request. "What are you doing? Lurking outside my door, or something?" She got up and pulled him the rest of the way into her office, shutting the door behind him.

Danny looked from Mindy to the door in confusion. "Lurking? I mean, I was walking by and you called out." He looked around her office, then back at the door. Mindy found his bewilderment endearing. He put one hand on his hip and reached with the other to rub his temple. "A man hears his name, well, he's curious about it…"

Mindy reached up and pulled his face down to hers, stopping the stilted flow of words with a hard kiss, sucking greedily at his lips. She withdrew. "Lurk all you want, Castellano, I like having you at my beck and call."

Danny reacted instinctually, threading his arms behind her, clutching at her. Her perfume surrounded him and he inhaled deeply. He could devour her smelling of soft vanilla spice. She made an inarticulate noise and pushed him up against the closed door. His back slammed against it with an audible thud. Mindy stepped back, reaching up to grab his collar. "I wish you were wearing a tie. I lead you around by it, just like in movies."

Her words brought him back to the present. He reluctantly tore himself away from her lips, breathing heavily. "Mindy, shhh." He held her at bay for a moment, one ear turned to the door, listening carefully. He was whispering now. "This is inappropriate. We're at work. Someone could hear."

The swiftness with which Mindy stepped back from him surprised Danny. He'd honestly thought his words would fall on deaf ears, and things would continue down the same path, maybe a little quieter. He frowned at the bereft feeling permeating him. This isn't how it was supposed to be. He didn't like how empty his arms felt when she stepped away. He was supposed to be the voice of reason, and she was supposed to completely ignore him and drag him along into her impulsiveness.

She glared up at him. "Afraid someone will hear?"

He found himself unable to backtrack. His sense of being technically right overrode the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "No, yes… Well, I mean, Betsy and Morgan are only a couple steps outside that door, and Jeremey and maybe patients. Wouldn't you be, like, embarrassed or something, if you were caught pouncing your coworker in the middle of the day?"

He wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs and looked at her in searchingly. "Embarrassed? So that's what it is." She shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her. "You know, I thought we were being secretive because you were a private person, not because you were embarrassed."

She stepped back to her desk, smoothing her hair down and straightening her blouse. When she was satisfied with her appearance she walked back up to Danny, placing her hand on the door knob behind him. "You can go now. I wouldn't want you to be embarrassed."

Danny opened and closed his mouth. This conversation was spinning wildly away from where he wanted it. Why was it so hard to say what he really meant? "What?.. No, that's not… It's just that I don't care for people to know who... It would be the same with anyone else."

The moment the words left his mouth he knew they weren't the right ones. Her expression hardened and she swung the door open, calling out loudly into the office. "Sorry, Danny, but I don't have time to help you find a suitable antiperspirant. You should probably consult your general physician."

She ushered him out of her office and shut the door. He was left standing alone, unsure of what to do. Betsy walked up to him, giving him a confused expression. "Dr. Castellano, did you get a haircut? It looks different, kind of messy."

He reached up and felt his hair sticking out at odd angles. Mindy's fingers had threaded their way through it when she'd pulled him in for a kiss. "A haircut, yeah sure." He angrily smoothed his hair down and stalked back to his office.

* * *

Mindy laid her head down on her desk and thought seriously about sprawling out on the floor in front of her desk. What had she been thinking? She should have expected Danny's reaction. There had been this niggling thought in the back of her mind. She'd felt his hesitancy with her. She'd attributed it to him being uptight, but now she couldn't stop thinking about how she'd never seen him with someone like her.

She raised her head from the cold surface and stared at the door. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a knock sounded from it. She took a deep breath, composing herself before she said come in.

Projecting an air of nonchalance, she pretended to be pouring over an ultrasound. "I suppose you've come to apologize." Without looking up she waited for a response.

"I guess I could apologize, yet again, but I hardly think I've done anything recently that warrants it." Mindy jerked her gaze away from the paper in her hand when she heard the familiar dulcet voice. Brendan was standing in her doorway clutching a stack of mail.

She cocked her head to the side. She hadn't spoken to Brendan in weeks, aside from a few only slightly awkward encounters in the elevator. "Deslaurier, what are you doing here? Come to paper the office with midwifery propaganda?" She pointed to the mail under his arm.

He smiled and took one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Now that you mention it, I do have some pretty interesting articles it might behoove you to look at, but no. I'm just here to drop of some mail that was inadvertently delivered upstairs." He pulled out the stack and gingerly set it on her desk. "What's with the angry red aura?" He waved his hands in the air, gesturing in her general direction. "Trouble at the practice?"

She furrowed her brown, tamping down the urge to glare at him. "Not that it's any of your business, but things are going quite well here. People come in my office and immediately their 'auras' become a calm and pleasant shade of blue, especially when they see my medical doctorate hanging on the wall."

He raised his hands in defeat. "I wave the white flag." He leaned back in the chair, making himself comfortable.

She eyed him suspiciously. "What do you really want, Brendan? You could have just dropped that mail off with Betsy." She pushed her frames up the bridge of her nose.

He shifted a little uncomfortably. "For someone who is often unperceptive you're extremely observant today." His normally serene and overly confident demeanor slipped a bit. "I've been thinking a lot about you and me. I know I've already apologized to you for my behavior, but I don't get the feeling that you've really forgiven me. It weighs heavily on my conscience and disrupts the flow of my chi."

An expression disbelief mingled with annoyance contorted Mindy's features. She fought the urge to curl her lip in distaste. "Oh, please. We're cool. No need to rehash the awkwardness that was Mindy/Brendan." She waved her hand dismissively.

He leaned forward in his chair, placing his hands on her desk. "No, Mindy, really. I pride myself on being able to read people. I should have known you weren't the kind of person who would thrive in a no-strings-attached arrangement. I feel like I did you a disservice, and now that I've gotten to know you better, maybe I did myself a disservice too."

Mindy took a deep breath. This was all very strange to her. A couple weeks ago she spent all of her time off sitting on the couch watching old episodes of _Sex in the City_, just hoping someone would call her, and today she'd already had a lover's tiff with Danny, and Brendan was basically asking her out.

Mindy was lost in her thoughts. She didn't realized Brendan was waiting on her to reply, until he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Look, I guess what I'm asking is a bit selfish. I want to assuage my guilt, and knowing that we are in fact 'cool' would help with that. What do you say we go out for green tea or something after work and talk about it?"

Mindy's first thought was a vehement and unyielding no, but just as she was about to give it to Brendan, Danny strolled by her office. Distracted by the sight of Brendan, he didn't watch where he was headed and walked right into Morgan, dropping the files in his hands. She stood up and rounded her desk, perching on the corner. She leaned forward, placing a hand on Brendan's forearm. "Well, I suppose, if it'll get your chi in balance or whatever."

She surreptitiously glanced out where Danny was kneeling, picking up his papers. He looked over his shoulder at her and quickly turned back to the mess in front of him. She smiled to herself.

Brendan rose from the chair and headed toward the door. "So, we'll meet in the lobby at five. See you then, and thanks Mindy." He leaned forward and gave her a swift peck on the cheek, squeezing her upper arm slightly.

She leaned on the doorframe to her office and watched him leave, only pushing away from it when the doors to the elevator shut. Strolling over to the Betsy's desk, she propped her arms up on it and glanced down at the secretary. "Bets, can you call Maggie for me and let her know I'll have to push back our plans for tonight?" She looked down at Danny, still shuffling through files on the floor. His movements stilled at her words, and she felt a small sense of satisfaction.

Betsy looked up in confusion. Danny picked the last of the files up and thumped them down on the counter. "She's not your personal assistant, call Maggie yourself." He picked up one of the files and perused it with total concentration, pointedly not looking at Mindy.

At Danny's words, Mindy turned to face him, resting one hand on her hip. Betsy looked back and forth between the two, a line of worry creasing her forehead. "No, it's ok Dr. L, I can call her. Just give me her number and also… Who is Maggie?"

Mindy tossed a lock of hair back over her shoulder, turning back to Betsy. "No, hon, I'll take care of it, thanks anyway."

She pulled out her phone and was scrolling through her contacts when Danny chimed in yet again. "Could you do that in your office? Some of us are trying to finish up their paperwork."

Mindy stared at him for a few moments, her mouth open in disbelief, temporarily at a loss for words. She blew out an irritated gust of air, regaining her ability to speak. "Oh, sure, Danny. Wouldn't want to disturb you." She turned and went back into her office, stopping briefly to look at Danny one last time. He was still bent over the file, single mindedly look at each page before turning to the next. "That file might be easier to read if it weren't upside down."

Danny looked up just in time to see her office door swing shut. He released a sigh of exasperation and snapped the file shut. Leaving the pile for Betsy to deal with, he marched back into his office.


End file.
